The "Woody" Liquor - Gin

A royal liquor!

Welcome back my fellow mixers to another issue of Mixers for you Mixer! Today, we move forward away from Jagermeister for now and towards a new intriguing spirit. At this point, I thought I was going to be my warpath of rambling on and on all of these great drinks that I get to sample. However, it wasn’t until recently that I realized that I forgot a very important liquor that I would be ashamed not to mention in a blog revolving around mixed drinks.  So without further ado, I would like to present to you all: Gin.

Gin – A brief history

Gin’s origin can be traced as far back as the 11^th century.  The first production of Gin was by Italian monks during the era of the Black Plague. It was discovered somewhat by accident when the monks were mixing juniper berries with malted spirits. Despite this, the Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius has been credited with this liquors creation during the 17^th-century.  During the early 18^th century, in London, turpentine was used in the combination with the Gin in order to give it a notable “woody” flavor and scent.  In times of prohibition, Gin was the most commonly made spirit simply due to its simplicity to create. These spirits were referred to as “bathtub gins”.

I hope this brief history Gin has gotten your mixing blood rearing to get crazy with this simple liquor. Until next time my fellow mixers…HAPPY MIXING!

The German Blitzkrieg - Jagermeister

Welcome back my followers to another exciting issue of Mixers for your mixer! This week we are temporarily shifting gears from Whiskey moving to a very unique and interesting liquor. Today we’ll take a look into Jagermeister.

Jagermesiter...hmmm delicious

A Brief History

Jagermeister, or better known as Jager, can find its roots across the Atlantic Ocean in Wolfenbuttel, Germany. The history itself starts with Curt Mast.  Curt Mast was a hunting enthusiast. He was the original distiller of Jagermeister. This wondrous liquor was originally developed to be used as a digestif and as a cough remedy.  A digestif is a strong alcoholic drink that is usually served after a meal. The belief is that it helps in the digestion process.

Jager’s Composition

Jager is a type of liqueur called Krauterlikor (meaning herbal liqeur).  In total, there are 56 herbs, fruits, roots, and spices. Some of these ingredients include the following:

• Citrus Peel
• Licorice
• Anise
• Poppy Seeds
• Saffron
• Ginger
• Juniper Berries
• Ginseng

Distillation Process

The ingredients contained in Jagermeister are first grounded. Then the grounded mix is then mixed into a container full of water and alcohol from a range of 2 to 3 days. After this time, this mixture is filtered and stored in oak barrels for about a year. When the year has passed, the liqueur is filtered again. After this second filtration process, the mixture is further mixed with sugar, caramel, alcohol, and water. This new mixture is filtered for a third and final time before it is finally bottled.

On a side note, the producer recommends that the liqueur be kept on ice and served cold.  Also, there have been rumors that this spirit contains deer or elk blood in it. However, it’s been proven that it doesn’t. I’m looking forward to creating numerous drinks and sending my taste buds a on a wild and crazy adventure! For my next drink, use the photo below to predict what I have in store for you in the next post. Until next time mixers, Happy Mixing!!

What possible mixed drink could I possibly be coming up with next?