Leber…what? Roughly translated, this German expression means “liver glue”. Believe it or not, this is what German locals call Jagermeister.

For years now, I have heard scores of young people refer to doing Jager shots and Jager bombs. Beverage alcohol should never be shot or bombed or anything else of the sort. In fact, hearing all this gauche talk made me NOT want to ever try Jagermeister.

In a recent Gin Master Class workshop, one of the people present was from Germany. As we were discussing the botanicals that are used in Gin, I made the offhand comment that in all my years I had never tasted Jagermeister.

After class, he slipped out to the nearby store and bought me a small bottle. Just the other evening I tried Jager for the first time. Straight up, neat. Wow! Impressive! I now regret the fact that I waited so long to try it. My palate immediately recognized some of the botanicals in the libation. Apparently there are 56 ingredients in all, many of them remaining a secret.

I am now a huge fan of Jager. If you, like me, have a slightly warped perspective of what Jager is because of how people around you have disrespected it, I urge you to give Jager a try. A wee dram after a nice dinner is absolutely wonderful.