After 80 years dominating the herbal liqueur market Jaegermeister has launched –Manifest. Like the original Jägermeister composition, the new herbal liqueur derives flavor from a mixture of herbs, blossoms, roots and fruits. However, master distillers added more plants to the original blend of 56 botanical ingredients. And, they’ve increased the number of macerates from four to five. (“Macerate” in this context means to “steep.”)
If you’re a crafty herb enthusiast just imagine the process. The Kräuterkellerei – like a wine cellar for herb blending — stocks the finest exotic herbs, blossoms, roots, and fruits, delivered in sacks from all over the world. Several dry mixtures are created and then time-consuming cold macerations follow.
These macerates rest in old oak barrels for an entire year. Meanwhile the base alcohol rests separately in small oak casks of American and German oak with a medium char. Aging in oak imparts wood notes for added flavors that contribute to the complex, smooth character of the new spirit.
If you want to try this at home, you can’t. Jaegermeister and Manifest formulas and processes are carefully guarded secrets of the original distiller’s great-grandchildren. Eleven of the botanicals are
- Star anise
- Ginger root
- Sweet orange peel
- Ceylon cinnamon
- Green cardamom
- Galangal root
- Clove
- Bitter orange peel
- Licorice root
- Chirette
- Mace
The elaborate combination leads to a flavor profile described by the company as “a full-bodied, robust blend of flavors. Slightly sweet notes of anise and dried fruit give way to subtle spice and aromatic bitters, finishing in a marriage of vanilla and barrel oak.”
The limited release of Jägermeister Manifest is available in select on-premise accounts throughout the United States.
