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| Type | Digestif |
|---|---|
| Alcohol by volume | 35% |
| Proof | 70 |
| Manufacturer | Mast-Jägermeister AG |
| Country of origin | Wolfenbüttel, Germany |
| Introduced | 1935 |
| Color | Dark brown |
Jägermeister (pronounced /YAY-gur-MAIST-ur/ in English; in German /ˈjeːgəˌmaistɐ/) is a German 70-proof digestif1 made with herbs and spices. It is the flagship product of Mast-Jägermeister AG, headquartered in Wolfenbüttel, south of Braunschweig, Germany.
Contrary to an urban legend, it does not contain any deer or elk blood.2
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General
On its website, the producer recommends that Jägermeister be consumed cold and suggests that it be kept in a freezer at –18°C (0°F) or on tap between –15° and –11°C (5° to 12°F).
A shot glass of Jägermeister dropped into a pint glass of Red Bull energy drink makes a cocktail called a Jägerbomb.
Jägermeister’s ingredients include alcohol, cane sugar, beet sugar, herbs, and spices. It is a digestif spirit similar to other central European stomach bitters, such as Gammel Dansk from Denmark, Unicum from Hungary, and Becherovka from the Czech Republic. In contrast to these beverages, Jägermeister has a sweeter taste.
The Jägermeister logo, which shows the head of a stag with a glowing cross between its antlers, is a reference to the stories of Saint Hubertus and Saint Eustace.3
In Germany, the term Bitter applies to only those bitters that are actually bitter. Because Jägermeister has a semi-sweet taste, it is instead considered a Kräuterlikör (literally “herbal liqueur”); the technical term for it is Halbbitter (“half bitter”). Most of the many other brands of Kräuterlikör in Germany are not widely exported. Jägermeister is the market leader in Germany.citation needed
Translated literally, Jägermeister means “hunt-master,” combining Jäger (hunter) and Meister (master, in the sense of an accomplished professional). A free translation would be gamekeeper or forest supervisor. As a legal term, Jägermeister was introduced in 1934 to designate senior foresters and gamekeepers in the forestry administration.
The poem
On the edge of the label on a Jägermeister bottle, there appears the following poem by Otto von Riesenthal (1848):
- Das ist des Jägers Ehrenschild,
- Daß er beschützt und hegt sein Wild,
- Weidmännisch jagt, wie sich’s gehört,
- Den Schöpfer im Geschöpfe ehrt.
A loose translation which preserves the rhyme and meter is:
- This is the hunter’s badge of glory,
- That he protect and tend his quarry,
- Hunt with honour, as is due,
- And through the beast to God is true.
According to Mast-Jägermeister AG, the translation is:
- It is the hunter’s honour that he
- Protects and preserves his game,
- Hunts sportsmanlike, honours the
- Creator in His creatures.
History
Jägermeister was originally marketed as a medicinal product; it was suggested as a cure for everything from coughing to digestive problems. It was used in World War II as a field anesthetic.citation needed
In Germany, it is still drunk as a digestif, sometimes humorously called Leberkleister (“liver glue”). It is also commonly used in small quantities around the home as an insect trap because flies and wasps are drawn to it.citation needed
The term Jägermeister was introduced in Germany in 1934 in the new Reichsjagdgesetz (Reich hunting law). The term was applied to senior foresters and gamekeepers in the German civil service. Thus, when the liquor was introduced in 1935, the name was already familiar to Germans. Curt Mast, the inventor of Jägermeister, was an enthusiastic hunter.
After Hermann Göring was appointed Reichsjägermeister (Reich huntmaster) in July 1934, the liquor was sometimes called Göring-Schnaps during the Nazi era.citation needed
Sponsorship
From the 1970s, the Jägermeister brand has developed an association with motor racing, as they have sponsored various European racing teams, primarily those who fielded BMWs4 and Porsches. These teams have competed in various major racing series including Formula One (March and EuroBrun), DRM (Max Moritz,5 Kremer, Zakspeed), DTM and Group C (Brun Motorsport), who took the team title in the 1986 World Sportscar Championship.
Jägermeister's orange livery is one of the more commonly recognised in motorsport. The Spanish Fly slot car brand has recently brought out model cars with the distinctive design. More recently, they introduced the Naylor Racing NHRA Pro Stock car, minus its signature orange livery.6 The livery's notability was proven when an article in the January 31, 2008, edition of Autosport listed it as one of the twenty most iconic commercial color schemes.7
Jägermeister is associated with German soccer, especially the Bundesliga. In 1973, the Eintracht Braunschweig team was the first soccer team to place a sponsor’s logo on its jerseys, although they rejected a related attempt to rename the team “Eintracht Jägermeister.” The move, very controversial at the time, paid the team 100,000 DM (€51,130) and introduced a new way of doing business in soccer. Other clubs quickly followed suit. Jägermeister now displays advertising at several soccer stadiums in Germany.8
Jägermeister also had an involvement in table tennis; it sponsored a domestic team called TTC Jägermeister Calw and was a personal sponsor of Dragutin Šurbek.
In the United States, Jägermeister became popular through the savvy promotion of Sidney Frank and through association with the wild partying of heavy metal bands such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Pantera, and Slayer.9 Jägermeister is the tour sponsor of numerous rock and ska bands such as Spunge, Chimaira, Ramesses, GWAR, Dope, Hanzel und Gretyl, Hemlock, Mushroomhead, Orange Goblin, Dog Fashion Disco, Bloodhound Gang, SikTh, My Ruin, Corrupt Absolute, Electric Eel Shock, Big John Bates, Psychostick, and STEMM.
Jägermeister was a sponsor of the 2008 Rockstar Mayhem Fest, a large nu-metal tour that featured the bands Slipknot, Disturbed, 5 Finger Death Punch, and Underoath.
The Jägermeister Music Tour, which is owned by Sidney Frank Importing, is an event that is held each year in the spring and fall.
In 2008, Jägermeister launched its own podcast, called “The Jägercast.”
See also
References
- ^ The bitter truth, Drinks International, 1 October 2007
- ^ Jägermeister contains deer or elk blood
- ^ New York Times: Biblical Art in a Secular Century
- ^ BMW am Jägermeister Look Photo series, auto racing
- ^ Exoto's Racing Legends — Porsche 934 RSR/935 Turbo Jägermeister Gift Set
- ^ Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc.: Start Your Engines! Jägermeister Teams Up With Naylor Racing and the NHRA!
- ^ Flying Colours by Henry Hope-Frost, Autosport, 31 January 2008
- ^ Official website in English
- ^ Metallica and the Story of Thrash: Metal Hammer Special, dated July 2008, pp. 56–59.
External links
- Official website in English
- Official website in German
- Official website for the United States
- Jägermeister Music Program
- Review of Jägermeister
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 16 November 2008, at 23:14.
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