The term Jägermeister was introduced in Germany in 1934 in the new hunting law, as the designation for a leading forester or marksman in public service. When the first Jägermeister hit the market in 1935, the name was already familiar to the Germans. It was a Curt Mast, also an enthusiastic hunter, who distilled and seasoned the original Jägermeister and then designed the logo, which shows the head of a deer with a glowing Christian cross between its antlers, as a gesture to the patron saint of hunters, Saint Hubertus . Jägermeister is a so-called Kräuterlikör in the family of Old Dansk from Denmark, Unicum from Hungary, and Becherovka from the Czech Republic, but unlike these, Jägermeister is much sweeter in profile. The ingredients include 56 herbs, fruits, roots and spices including citrus peels, licorice, anise, poppy seeds, saffron, ginger, juniper and ginseng. The aromas are extracted in alcohol and water, and then the herb is matured for 12 months in used oak barrels. Sugar, alcohol and water are then added until the alcohol percentage reaches 35%, after which the liqueur is filtered and bottled.
