🥃 Jägermeister
German herbal liqueur from Wolfenbüttel: 56 herbs, flowers, roots and fruits are steeped in alcohol, and the base then ages for about a year in oak casks.
Jägermeister is a German herbal liqueur (Kräuterlikör) made by Mast-Jägermeister SE in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony. Curt Mast finalised the recipe of 56 herbs, flowers, roots and fruits in 1934, and the drink went on sale in 1935. The classic liqueur is 35% ABV, and the company is still owned by the founder's family.
The company's story began on 23 July 1878, when Wilhelm Mast bought a house in Wolfenbüttel and started making vinegar. His son Curt took over in 1917, added a wine trade and closed the vinegar business in 1922. A passionate hunter, he was looking for a herbal liqueur to serve at the table after a hunt. Curt Mast designed the label with the stag, a cross glowing between its antlers, an image from the legend of Saint Hubert, patron saint of hunters, together with the graphic artist Günther Clausen. Today the company belongs to the family's fifth generation.
According to the producer, the plant material is weighed and blended into dry mixes, then steeped for several weeks in a mixture of alcohol and water. The macerates are combined into a dark base of more than 50% ABV, which matures for about a year in large oak casks, roughly 400 in Wolfenbüttel and about 80 at the Kamenz site; some of the casks are over a hundred years old. Before bottling, the base is adjusted with water, alcohol, caramel and liquid sugar. Of the 56 ingredients, only a few are named publicly, among them star anise, cinnamon and ginger root.
Besides the classic liqueur, the brand has released Manifest (2018, 38% ABV, twice matured in oak), the spicy ginger Scharf (2019), the coffee-flavoured Cold Brew (2019) and Orange (2025).
Why it matters to you. The stag on the label does not mean animal ingredients: the producer calls the recipe vegan. Jägermeister is a liqueur, that is, a sweetened drink rather than a bitter, and it is much stronger than wine or beer. Manifest and Scharf are separate products with a different strength, so check the name and the percentage on the label. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
Facts
| Year founded | recipe 1934, on sale from 1935; company since 1878 (Wolfenbüttel) |
|---|---|
| Raw material | 56 herbs, flowers, roots and fruits; alcohol, water, sugar, caramel |
| Cask type | large oak casks, about 400 in Wolfenbüttel (some over 100 years old) |
| Minimum maturation | base: about 1 year in oak (according to the producer) |
| Alcohol (% vol.) | 35% ABV (classic); Manifest: 38% |
| EU category | liqueur (33); the producer labels the drink a herbal liqueur |
How it connects to Spirits
🥃 Jägermeister → kind of → 🍸 Liqueurs → kind of → 🥃 Spirits
Links
- Packed in
- 🍷 Oak barrel
- What it contains
- 🍬 Sugar, 🍷 Ethanol
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health, 🍷 Drunk driving, 🍷 Alcohol dependence
- Part of
- 🍸 Liqueurs
- Related to
- 🌍 Central Europe
- Similar and different
- 🍸 Bitter (bitter-tasting spirit drink), 🥃 Becherovka, 🥃 Drambuie
- In other topics
- 🍷 Vermouth
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that Jägermeister contains deer blood?
No. The rumour is fuelled by the drink's dark colour and the stag on the label. The producer lists only plant ingredients, 56 herbs, flowers, roots and fruits, and calls the recipe vegan; the fact-checkers at Snopes rated the rumour false.
How strong is Jägermeister?
The classic liqueur is 35% ABV. The separate Manifest product, twice matured in oak, is 38% ABV.
Where is Jägermeister made?
In Wolfenbüttel (Lower Saxony), where the base matures in about 400 oak casks. The producer keeps roughly 80 more casks at its site in Kamenz.
What do the name and the stag on the label mean?
In the German hunting tradition, a Jägermeister is a master of the hunt. The stag with a cross refers to the legend of Saint Hubert, patron saint of hunters; the label was created by Curt Mast and the graphic artist Günther Clausen.
How is Jägermeister different from a bitter?
Jägermeister is a liqueur: the base is sweetened with sugar and caramel. Under EU rules, a bitter is a drink with a predominantly bitter taste and at least 15% ABV, and it can be entirely unsweetened.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🍷 Oak barrel — A wooden barrel of oak staves in which wine matures and breathes.
- 🍷 Ethanol — The alcohol formed during fermentation that makes you drunk.
- 🍷 Vermouth — Aromatised wine with added alcohol whose characteristic taste comes from wormwood together with other herbs and spices.
- 🌍 Central Europe — Curd cheese (quark), cheeses and butter in peasant cooking.
Similar
🥃 Drambuie · 🥃 Licor 43 · 🥃 Malibu · 🥃 Kahlúa · 🥃 Becherovka · 🥃 Campari
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.
Sources
- Mast-Jägermeister SE: Manufacturing (56 botanicals, maceration, ~1 year in oak casks, Wolfenbüttel & Kamenz, vegan)
- Mast-Jägermeister SE: History of Jägermeister, fact sheet 19.06.2025 (1878, 1917, 1922, recipe 1934, launch 1935, label)
- Mast-Jägermeister SE: Company (family-owned, 5th generation, Wolfenbüttel, ~1,000 employees)
- Mast-Jägermeister SE: press release «More than a Product» (≈400 oak casks, base enriched with water, alcohol, caramel, liquid sugar)
- Snopes: Blood in Jägermeister — rating False
- Wikipedia: Jägermeister (ABV 35 %, product variants) — допоміжне
- Regulation (EU) 2019/787 on spirit drinks (OJ L 130, 17.5.2019), Art. 2 and Annex I
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)