I have a strange fascination with Jägermeister. I’d say it stems from going through some remarkable phases with the herbal German liqueur. First I hated it, then I drank way too much of it during and after college, and now it is something that I studiously avoid, unless I can’t avoid it. I have only come across a small number of craft cocktails that use Jägermeister. It’s a tough ingredient – it’s sweet, medicinal, and very overpowering in a mix with other ingredients. The most important aspect of any cocktail is balance and it’s hard to achieve balance with ingredients like Jägermeister.
Gary Regan has posted the recipe for a Jägermeister cocktail created by Robert Hess of DrinkBoy. It looks really interesting and definitely worth a try for anyone who has sought to find a drink that makes use of a spirit that ordinarily doesn’t find much use beyond a chilled shot.
Mahogany
.5 oz cinnamon schnapps (optional)
1.5 oz dry vermouth
.75 oz Jägermeister
.75 oz Bénédictine1. If desired, coat the interior of a chilled cocktail glass with the cinnamon schnapps and discard any excess.
2. Stir the vermouth, Jägermeister, and Bénédictine together over ice. Strain into the cocktail glass.
A Jigger of Blog 
Talked to Adam from the Boston Shaker about this a while back. He said that American Jager is very different from the German original. The college shot favorite is much more sugar and booze than herbal potable bitter.
Ever tried the good stuff?
By: Austin on May 1, 2010
at 4:27 pm
Interesting – no I haven’t tried it, but it sounds a whole lot better than the sugary syrup we deal with here.
By: Matt Hamlin on May 3, 2010
at 12:36 pm