The drink’s ingredients are shrouded in mystery, and with a “dulling effect … similar to the prescription drugs Valium and Quaalude,” one of the most popular liquors in the U.S. today got a jumpstart from Louisiana college students more than 20 years ago.
Jägermeister, a German-made spirit, grew into a national brand during the ’80s after a local newspaper article explained how college students in New Orleans and Baton Rouge took a liking to the drink because of rumors it contained more intoxicants than just alcohol.
“The college kids became very intrigued by that, and it became really cool down there,” said Kate Laufer, public relations director for Sidney Frank Importing Company Inc., which first received rights to bring the brand from Germany to the U.S. in 1974. Sidney Frank Importing still supplies the nation today. “Jägermeister is a brand that’s built around a lot of mystery, and it’s something that people will always mumble about.”
Though not officially distributed in the U.S. until 1974, Jägermeister found its way into one New Orleans bar as early as 1969 when immigrants would bring personal supplies from overseas.
“There were many German sailors coming through New Orleans,” said Kate Wimmer, general manager of Fritzel’s European Jazz Club, which opened on Bourbon Street in 1969 and was one of the first American bars to serve Jägermeister. “It wasn’t an alcohol to get drunk on. They drank it after eating to alleviate the stomach and help with digestion.”
Then, for an unknown reason — perhaps bartenders at Fritzel’s or nearby bars jokingly serving it to college students because of the strong taste — it spread to a younger crowd, where rumors of deep intoxication started.
“I think the reason why the bottle looks like it does is because it’s meant to be more of a medicine with some alcohol in it,” Wimmer said of the rumor’s origins and the drink’s original use.
The Morning Advocate, a Baton Rouge newspaper, recognized the popular new intoxicant and in May 1985 published an article debunking myths about Jägermeister’s ingredients including prescription medicines.
“In Baton Rouge, the liquor has caught on among the younger crowd,” the 1985 Advocate article said. “In New Orleans, the Jägermeister crowd includes punk rockers, the traditional crowd at places like Fritzel’s and also at gay bars.”
Frank, whom Laufer described as a “creative genius,” saw an opportunity to capitalize on the buzz. He used quotes from the article in national advertisements, bought billboards in Louisiana and sent one of the first team of Jägerettes — scantily clad female promoters offering samples — to area bars.
After advertising across the country — even posting copies of the Morning Advocate article above urinals in bars — the brand began “rapid ascensions” to national prominence, according to Frank’s website.
Marc Fraioli, who owns Fred’s Bar and Grill on Bob Pettit Boulevard, said he served Jäger in 1982 when he opened the bar. At the time, Fraioli also owned the North Gate bar Murphy’s, which is no longer open.
“I remember hearing of it, then people started asking for it, and we tried to stay trendy,” Fraioli said. “It was the worst-tasting drink, though. People used to say it tastes like Vicks Formula 44 [cough suppressant]. Instead of running away from the fact it tastes like crap, college students embraced it.”
Jägermeister contains 35 percent alcohol by volume and includes a mysterious blend of 56 different herbs, spices and roots that create its notorious flavor.
“It’s not one of my favorite alcohols, but I’ll still take the shot,” said Ryan Espey, agricultural business senior. “It’s really popular at the bars, and as I’ve gotten older and my drinking increased, I can handle the taste better.”
Today, Jägermeister is “the No. 1 selling imported liquor and shot brand in the United States,” and employees at Frank’s business know the tale of Louisiana kickstarting his importing company and the Jäger brand, Laufer said.
“We get asked for Jäger more than any other liquor for shots,” Fraioli said. “It was ahead of its time for shots, and in my mind it kind of created that shot environment. By the ’90s and 2000s, shots gained momentum and became the ‘sexy’ and trendy drinks.”
Kyle Sorge, marketing sophomore, said he thinks Jägermeister became popular with current college students through advertisements and pop culture, like movies and the 2007 YouTube video “My New Haircut.”
“I thought that video was funny, so of course we tried Jäger,” Sorge said. “It’s definitely a lot different than any other liquor I’ve tried. There isn’t another brand like Jäger with that high of [alcohol] proof that’s as easy to take.”
Republic National Distributing Company is now Louisiana’s exclusive distributor, with offices in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans and Shreveport. But when Frank’s business first gained supplier rights for the U.S., Wines Unlimited in New Orleans distributed Jäger across the state.
“I think New Orleanians caught on to it because it indeed had a way of getting you to the level of intoxication you couldn’t seem to get from other spirits. Whether it was real or imagined, who knows,” said Wines Unlimited’s chief operations officer Howard Brown, who began working there in 1988 when Jäger sales “were already an animal.”
 
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Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]