What Does Jägermeister Taste Like?

Jägermeister is a German herbal liqueur from Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony. Curt Mast devised the recipe and it went on sale in 1935. It is 35% alcohol.¹

The company says it is made from 56 herbs, roots and spices, matured in oak, and that only a few people know the recipe.² Citrus peel, licorice, anise, saffron and ginger are among the ingredients usually named.¹ Everything else on the many lists online is a guess. And no, it does not contain deer or elk blood. That rumor is just a rumor.¹

What you are tasting

Licorice hits first and stays longest. Under it you get orange peel, ginger and warm spice, then a bitter, herbal finish. Difford's tasting note adds cherry, stewed fruit, chocolate and a cola-like note, with a finish of licorice, aniseed and cracked black pepper.³

The "licorice" people name is mostly anethole, the anise compound. Real licorice root adds a slow, lingering sweetness instead. The difference is covered in anise vs licorice, and it matters when you build this profile.

It is sweet. Difford's lists 136 g of sugar per litre.³ The brand pushes ice-cold shots, and cold dulls both the sugar and the herbal bite. That is one reason it goes down more easily from the freezer.

Campari is the other herbal liqueur people ask about. Campari is bitter orange first. Jägermeister is licorice and spice first.

Where the profile shows up

The Jägerbomb is a shot of it dropped into an energy drink, typically Red Bull.⁴ That pairing, licorice and spice against Red Bull's sweet tutti-frutti, is a ready-made reference for energy drink and RTD flavors that want a "bomb" angle.

Building a herbal-liqueur-type flavor for RTDs and non-alcoholic drinks

Anise is the backbone and the main risk. Anethole takes over a blend fast. Start low and build up. Too much and every other note disappears.

Plan for the oils. Anethole and citrus oils dissolve easily in a 35% spirit and barely at all in water. That is why ouzo clouds when you add water. A 5% RTD has far too little alcohol to hold them, and a non-alcoholic drink has none. Use an emulsion or a solubilizer, or the drink will cloud and ring.

Use real licorice for the body. Glycyrrhizin gives the slow sweetness that anise cannot. US rules cap it at 0.1% glycyrrhizin in alcoholic drinks and 0.15% in nonalcoholic ones.⁵

Pick a legal bitter. Gentian and quassia are permitted natural flavoring substances. Wormwood is too, but only if the finished food is thujone-free.⁶

This is a good profile for stevia. Stevia's licorice-like aftertaste tends to blend into licorice and anise rather than stand out. That helps a lower-sugar version of a very sweet original. See stevia aftertaste.

Replace the warmth. Without 35% alcohol, the drink loses its burn. Extra ginger can stand in for some of it.

Mind the name. Jägermeister is a trademark. On your pack, say "herbal liqueur flavor" or describe the notes.