The Jägermeister Project: Introduction

Photo credit: Paul Templing

Due largely to my links with the rock and metal community, Jägermeister is a substance I have become very familiar with over the years. In recent times I've given quite a bit of thought to how it could be included in cocktails, which besides the ubiquitous Jägerbomb does not seem to have been done at all. I imagine the reason is that it's a really difficult ingredient to combine with anything due to its very complex and strong (not to mention polarising) flavour. It's herbal, bitter, sweet, spicy and fruity all at the same time.

Because I always like a challenge, I'm determined to find a place for this curious concoction as a legitimate cocktail ingredient. It must be possible, surely? Green chartreuse, absinthe and other intensely-flavoured spirits, liqueurs and digestifs are frequently found in high-quality mixed drinks so I don't see why this one shouldn't be. I suspect it's only the reputation it enjoys as a dirty student drink (albeit one well-supported by the evidence) that drags its image so low in the eyes of today's mixologists.

Firstly though, what exactly is Jägermeister? It's a type of kräuterlikör ('herbal liqueur' or 'spiced liqueur'), a category of German drinks that are flavoured with herbs and spices and sweetened with sugar, similar in style to other central European liqueurs. Jägermeister is one of the sweeter varieties of this type available, which may be one reason for its broader popularity worldwide (though I suspect that has more to do with music/sporting sponsorships than anything else). Wikipedia indicates that some of its 56 flavouring ingredients include citrus peel, liquorice, anise, poppy seeds, saffron, juniper berries and ginseng. After steeping, the mixture is aged in oak barrels for a year. So curiously this drink has things in common with vermouth (citrus peel), absinthe (anise), brandy & whisky (oak ageing), and gin (juniper berries) as well as a host of unique features. Does this mean there are many undiscovered combinations out there to try? Definitely. Whether they work or not remains to be seen! 

So far my experiments have not begun in earnest, but my experience so far suggests that flavours that work in combination with Jägermeister (besides Red Bull, more on which later) include malt-flavoured soft drinks, coffee, and lemon juice.

In terms of cocktails, so far I can only lay claim to the creation of this unusual drink:

Christmas

1.5 Measures Jägermeister

Dash of fresh orange juice

Kvass (Russian malt-flavoured soft drink)

Pour ingredients into rocks glass with ice, top with kvass, garnish with orange wedge.

Invented very casually in late 2007, this drink was so named because I thought it tasted like Christmas, with an intangible Christmassy quality reminiscent of Christmas pudding or fruit cake or other wintery spiced food and drink. The orange juice is a more recent addition. I imagine other malt-flavoured drinks could be substituted for the kvass. I think it works because the kvass has a strong sweet malty aftertaste, with a slight acidity from the carbonation, both of which fit in around Jägermeister's unique flavour profile. In style I suppose it's like a Jägermeister Cuba Libre.

My friend Paul used to drink what he called 'Coffeemeister' while at university, which was as it sounds: coffee with Jägermeister in it. I'm currently wondering whether or not this could work a bit like an Irish Coffee, with cream floated on top, so this will probably be one of my lines of investigation.

Another thing I'm intending to try is some sort of 'Ultimate Jägerbomb', reverse-engineering the sickly flavour of energy drinks in order to try and create something recognisably similar but with fresh juices and high-quality ingredients, a bit like Chris McMillian's Pimm's Cup recipe, which uses lemon juice, syrup and soda water in place of the UK-style bought lemonade that Americans would be unfamiliar with.

As a fan of vermouth and its role in the true classic cocktails of the late-19th/early 20th century, I'm keen to see whether some style of vermouth would pair well with the Huntmaster, so this will be another path I will take in the course of my experimentation.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any suggestions, or let me know about your own experiences with drinks you've made yourself. I'll keep you informed of my progress!