You obtain a spirit or liqueur as a result of a cocktail recipe referred to as for a really minute quantity. Now you’re caught with the remaining 9/10ths of the bottle and what to do with it. No worries. Bartenders weigh in with suggestions and recipes for getting each final drop out of an underutilized ingredient so it doesn’t collect mud in your bar shelf.
Successive pours of Jägermeister are an American ceremony of passage to mark reaching the authorized consuming age (or generally effectively earlier than), and a bottle stashed in a basement bar freezer is a staple at many a fraternity home. However the German amaro has much more going for it than merely being a bracing shot.
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Jägermeister is produced by steeping 56 herbs and spices together with ginger, anise, citrus peel and juniper in alcohol and water for a couple of days earlier than storing it in oak for a yr and sweetening it. It was created in 1934 by Curt Mast, the son of a vinegar maker and wine dealer, an avid hunter who selected a reputation for his elixir that interprets to “master hunter” and adorned the label with a drawing of a stag. American importer Sidney Frank is credited with its recognition in the US, positioning it within the Nineteen Eighties as a celebration drink.
The inclusion of all these botanicals additionally makes it extremely helpful behind the bar as both a base spirit or modifier, in accordance with Joe Zakowski, a bartender at Mom’s Smash and No. 308 in Nashville. He likens the liqueur to an outdated pal. “It just sits right with me,” he says. “When I’m not in the mood for anything else, I can still drink Jägermeister; it’s like mother’s milk.”
Although some folks carry an aversion to Jäger due to a nasty expertise years in the past, Zakowski argues in opposition to utilizing it as a scapegoat for any youthful indiscretions. He recommends a reintroduction as a solo sipper or in a easy cocktail, maybe combined with seltzer over ice and garnished with citrus or herbs. “Most anti-Jäger drinkers will come around and realize it’s a delicious, herbaceous spirit for grown-ups,” he says.
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With out negating its fame as a shot model, Willy Shine, the “brandmeister” for Mast-Jägermeister U.S., likes to level out that the product is mainly a German amaro with a ton of heritage behind it. “Jägermeister is a very versatile liquid to work within the realm of cocktails,” he says. “It truly runs the gamut very well and tastes harmonious.” He’s notably keen on enjoying off its ginger, citrus and bitter parts in drinks corresponding to a Berlin Mule (sure, that’s a Moscow Mule with Jäger) and a riff on an Previous Normal.
“It’s at once herbal, a little bitter and a little sweet, which all together means that the uses you can find for it are endless,” says Veronica Correa, a San Diego bartender. She likes to make use of Jäger as a bittering agent for stirred drinks corresponding to a Negroni and to combine up twists on the Mai Tai and different tropical and summery cocktails. Her crushable Waterfront Cooler is a mashup of a Pimm’s Cup and an Arnold Palmer, with Earl Gray tea, muddled fruit and mint, and ginger beer, garnished with fruit and extra mint.
Jägermeister truly has fairly an affinity for mint, says Evan Wolf, a bartender at Sidecar Patio & Oyster Bar in New Orleans. “I like to win skeptics over by giving Jäger split duty with whiskey in a Mint Julep or as the base spirit in a Stinger with crème de menthe.” In his drink A Day on the (Crawfish) Races, he infuses it with mint tea, then shakes it with lemon juice and blackberry jam and serves the drink in an Previous Normal glass crammed with crushed ice and garnished with a mint sprig. “The obvious challenge is that people sometimes let its reputation precede it, so I try and make sure that the cocktails I use Jägermeister in are super ‘round,’ well-balanced and easy to enjoy,” he says.
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