Childhood Flashbacks - One Memory I Could Do Without!
Written: Mar 04 '09 (Updated Mar 04 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: It's an authentic product, invented by an actual Master Hunter which is what "Jagermeister" means.
Cons: Too sweet, brings back bad memories.
The Bottom Line: Red wine or a scotch drinkers probably won't like the heavy sweetness. However, if you like sweet drinks and like herbal Campari for example, you might enjoy it.
Being well past my college years, this beverage didn't appear on my radar until there happened to be a Jagermeister promotional event in one of my local haunts. I'd of course heard of it, but all I'd heard was that it was a quick ride on the Inebriation Express and I had no interest in that, but one of the event staff (who turned out to actually be a Jager rep, as I later found out) offered me a free taste and I figured I'd try it.
As soon as I tasted it I had a flashback to my own childhood...NO my parents weren't plying me with booze. Turns out that Jagermeister tastes EXACTLY like a kid's laxative that was very common on the market in the 60's and 70's called Fletcher's Castoria...any of you fellow boomers remember it? It's also the same colour. It's actually still being produced and the label says it's root beer flavour but the undertone it gets from the oil of wintergreen it contains brings the taste queasily close to that of the herbal-sweet-thick Jaeger. On closer inspection the liqueur does contain some root extracts and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them was sassafras (root beer).
That Jager rep turned 5 shades of red when I related this to him and I wonder if corporate ever got wind of it. The similarity could be one of the reasons they're marketing to younger people.
As far as the Inebriation Express, I'll admit I couldn't get past that first sip and left the remainder on the bar and it was snapped up either accidentally or on purpose, by one of the younger, more lubricated patrons...I've got to find a new hang out.
I did go to the manufacturer's website to see if perhaps I was just missing the point and I found out that it is actually a German product and not the brain child of some Madison Avenue marketing guy. Oddly though, none of the Germans I know will touch the stuff and I didn't notice any at any of the bars I went to while in Germany, then again, I wasn't specifically looking for it either.
I tried to find out if it was based on some ancient recipe and it appears it is not. The earliest reference I could find to it is in Wikipedia where it is posted that it was used as a field anaesthetic in World War II (figures). The Wiki entry further states that it is often referred to as Leberkleister or "liver glue" and that it's commonly used to trap insects in households (don't you just want a big ol' glass of it right now?). It could probably remove wax buildup from floors too.
Most of the drink recipes on the site involve the addition of equally or more sweet ingredients so I'm pretty sure I am not in Jagermeister's target demographic. The fact that they call the people who represent them at events Jagerettes and Jagerdudes, further confirmed this...sheesh I'm getting old!
56 herbs, roots and fruits are brought together from all across the globe. Cinnamon from Ceylon, bitter oranges from Australia, ginger root from South...More at CityWineCellar
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