Jägermeister is made by Mast-Jägermeister in Wolfenbüttel, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. The Mast family business was started in 1878 by Wilhelm Mast as a vinegar and wine firm. His son Curt was a keen hunter who leased his first hunting ground in 1920, and in 1934 he settled on the recipe for a herbal liqueur. It reached the German market in 1935, introduced as a speciality for hunters. The name is German for master hunter.
The recipe uses 56 herbs, blossoms, roots and fruits, and the company says it has not changed since it was created. The botanicals are steeped in a mixture of alcohol and water and the separate macerates are blended into a dark base. That base matures in oak casks in the Wolfenbüttel cellars for about a year before water, alcohol, caramel and sugar are added to bring it to 35 per cent. The label shows a stag with a glowing cross between its antlers, a reference to Saint Hubert and Saint Eustace, the patron saints of hunters.
Citrus peel, liquorice, anise, saffron and ginger are among the botanicals, which gives it a dark, spiced character. The maker recommends serving it very cold, and keeps its own bottles in a freezer at minus 18 degrees Celsius. A small measure sipped slowly shows off the botanicals better than a long mixed drink does.