The company Mast has had its headquarters in Wolfenbüttel since 1878. Here, in the eastern part of Lower Saxony, surrounded by magnificent forest and the Harz Mountains, the traditional craftsmanship lives on.
The company thrives and, when Curt Mast, the founder's son, enters the business, a new direction manifests itself. The young man proves to be extraordinarily talented in the preparation and mixture of herbal extracts.
In 1934, after years of experimenting with different ingredients, Curt Mast develops the recipe for a unique, intensively tasting and unmistakable herbal liquor - the birth of what later becomes a worldwide success: Jägermeister.
Like many men of his time, Curt Mast was a passionate hunter - with great respect for nature and all its creatures.
Curt Mast dedicated his new recipe, a combination of herbal extracts and pure alcohol with which every hunt would begin and also end, to hunters and their honourable tradition.
In the spirit of this noble tradition he christened the new liquor, which was based solely on natural ingredients, Jägermeister.
For the logo only the legendary stag's head with the beaming cross in its antlers would do: A stag that appeared to a wild hunter and converted him to Christianity. That very hunter later became the patron saint of all hunters: Saint Hubertus.
To protect the unique taste of Jägermeister, Curt Mast chose a special bottle that would become just as famous as its content.
This had to be absolutely reliable. He tested hundreds of different forms by dropping them from a great height onto an oak floor - only one survived.
The secret Jägermeister recipe consists of 56 different natural ingredients. Each and every delivery undergoes several exhaustive quality control measures. Only the best ingredients - even if they are very difficult to find - get past the keen eye of the master distiller.
After selection of the highest grade of raw materials and careful weighing of the portions required as specified in the traditional recipe, the master prepares the different dry mixtures. These are gently extracted by cold maceration in a process taking several weeks.
After this process is complete, a master distiller will skilfully blend these macerates together then transfer them to wooden barrels. In time these will provide the base mixture, the key to the legendary Jägermeister taste.
445 mighty oak barrels are stored in the herb liquor cellars - all made from home grown wood from the Palatinate region. The Jägermeister base finds time to "breathe" in these barrels for approximately one year.
A great variety of influences are at the root of Jägermeister's unmistakable taste. They are inspired by the surrounding rich forests and water which flows from the nearby Harz Mountains to Wolfenbüttel.
The recipe's valuable herbs and the skill of our master distillers are decisive for the taste.
More than a year passes before even one bottle leaves the Jägermeister premises. During this time 383 quality control checks are carried out as a guarantee for continuing highest quality.
The Jägermeister taste is complex and mildly spicy.
Trace of citrus, ginger, and star anise are characteristic and are also accompanied with a pleasant herbal flavour. Pure and natural in taste paired with a solid strong character.
The secret of this success was and is the unique character of Jägermeister, which provides, glass for glass, for an unforgettable experience.
