They can't serve it premixed because it's against the law.

November 26, 2012 6:23 PM

I am fairly sure of these: Ginger, orris, galengal, lovage, chiretta, angelica, elecampane, hyssop, pomerance, camomile, lavender, coriander, pepper, cloves, star anis, allspice, nutmeg, cardamon, fennel, bitter orange, rose hips, quinine, licorice, tumeric, mace, saffron.

These are possibles: marshmallow, yarrow, burdock, curcuma, grains of paradise, cubeb, wintergreen, cassia, betony, purslane, borage, sandalwood.

Deer blood is a myth. Caramel is used as a sweetener. Your real problem is getting the proportions right.

And don't mix it with Red Bull. Drink it straight and cold.
posted by 256 (88 comments total)

These are some of my favorite things.
posted by Anything at 6:28 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Before clicking on the links; is this yet another MetaFilter hummus appreciation thread?
posted by Wordshore at 6:29 PM on November 26, 2012 [10 favorites]

very, very cold.
posted by radiosilents at 6:29 PM on November 26, 2012

Can you tell me what's in Chartreuse too?
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:33 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

So it's basically like hardcore sarsaparilla?
posted by Doleful Creature at 6:33 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Psh, this has nothing on Killepitsch both in ingredient count AND in flavor complexity/awesomeness.
posted by disillusioned at 6:34 PM on November 26, 2012

As I read that, the smells and tastes rolled through my being...

An interesting post... and I shall now go purchase a bottle...
posted by HuronBob at 6:35 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Relevant
posted by lalochezia at 6:35 PM on November 26, 2012

I always thought it was black licorice melted into Everclear.
posted by 4ster at 6:36 PM on November 26, 2012 [9 favorites]

Worst. Drink. Ever.

(of the subset of things that one might drink on purpose)
posted by BeeDo at 6:39 PM on November 26, 2012 [5 favorites]

Jägermeister is great because when you think to yourself, "man, a cold shot of Jäger would be just the thing," that's when you know that it's time to go home.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 6:40 PM on November 26, 2012 [62 favorites]

I am a fan of this product. Hold the liquid nitrogen though.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:41 PM on November 26, 2012

It's a handy reference point when you need to explain what Unicum tastes like ("Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Jagermeister").
posted by Wolfdog at 6:44 PM on November 26, 2012 [10 favorites]

Can you tell me what's in Chartreuse too?

Yellow and Green
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:53 PM on November 26, 2012 [28 favorites]

I lost several hours one New Years to Jagermeister and now can't tolerate the taste of it.
posted by arcticseal at 6:54 PM on November 26, 2012

Weirdly obsessed with purity elsewhere, in Australia, Jägermeister has started distributing ready-to-drink products - one mixed with guarana extract and mystery "natural ingredients", and another dubbed "ginger lime". (Because Red Bull and Jäger wasn't foul-tasting enough, I guess.)
posted by gingerest at 6:55 PM on November 26, 2012

BrotherCaine: Can you tell me what's in Chartreuse too?

Well, almost.
posted by cobra libre at 6:55 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

What I want to know is, is there Jaegermeister in Nyquil, or is there Nyquil in Jaegermeister?
posted by ErikaB at 6:56 PM on November 26, 2012 [4 favorites]

I lost several hours one New Years to Jagermeister and now can't tolerate the taste of it.

Only several hours? Once?

Amateur.
posted by item at 6:59 PM on November 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

How anyone pines for this stuff is literally insane to me. Mental illness is involved.
posted by basicchannel at 7:00 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hardcore sarsaparilla is about right, actually. A little bit heavier on the licorice than most sarsas, I think.

I don't care for Jager except when I have a bit of an upset stomach and want to go out anyway - then, it's perfect. One shot, nice and cold, drunk quickly.

(I will drink it with Red Bull, because I will drink everything with Red Bull, but I don't think it really enhances either set of flavors.)
posted by restless_nomad at 7:03 PM on November 26, 2012

Jaegermeister is Nyquil.

Vile. Bleech. Yuck.
posted by shoesietart at 7:03 PM on November 26, 2012

How anyone pines for this stuff...

Another possible ingredient.
posted by recess at 7:04 PM on November 26, 2012 [8 favorites]

Worst. Drink. Ever.

Jeppson's Malört, bar none.
posted by jedicus at 7:14 PM on November 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

Only several hours? Once?

Luckily the photos were pre-digital cameras.
posted by arcticseal at 7:16 PM on November 26, 2012

I should probably admit I like Malort just fine too.
posted by restless_nomad at 7:16 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

How anyone pines for this stuff is literally insane to me. Mental illness is involved.

I too am confused when people like things different from what I like.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:24 PM on November 26, 2012 [10 favorites]

So! I have an anecdote!

Glen Phillips came to town last week and my husband went to see him. Glen came out after the show for a drink. His fans had filled up the place, but the bartender still wouldn't give him a shot of Jagermeister because that wasn't on the Allowed Free Booze for Performers list, even though, you know, he's Glen fucking Phillips. Glen sighed and paid for his shot.

So my husband asks him why he drank it, and Glen said it was apparently really good for a throat sore from singing all night.
posted by emjaybee at 7:26 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jägermeister is great because when you think to yourself,"man,a cold shot of Jäger would be just the thing," that's when you know that it's time to go home.

It's advice like this that makes me want to have kids so I can give them an account here. Because seriously, if I could send a tattooed message back on my arm, I would get this one immediately.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:26 PM on November 26, 2012 [5 favorites]

It's advice like this that makes me want to have kids so I can give them an account here. Because seriously, if I could send a tattooed message back on my arm, I would get this one immediately.

I'm confused. Why can't we mark things best answer on the blue?
posted by 256 at 7:28 PM on November 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

Side note, you know what tastes amazing, but shouldn't? Warm sugar-free Red Bull. It's like delicious caffeine cider.
posted by almostmanda at 7:39 PM on November 26, 2012

Jäger has *always* been the sign that it's time to go home and the night will *not* end well, regardless of how nicely it began.

/misspent youth. Okay, probably more like an occasionally poorly invested youth.
posted by smirkette at 7:46 PM on November 26, 2012

I just want to be clear that I'm not judging anyone here -- it's just that reading this thread made my liver ache.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:03 PM on November 26, 2012

I've always liked the tagline :

"Jagermeister! It makes English your second language!"

For whatever reason, awful though it is, I don't feel nearly as wary of Jager as I do of tequila. Then again, tequila is a much more common go-to for stupid urges.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:10 PM on November 26, 2012 [6 favorites]

So, I've recently been experimenting with putting things into alcohol. This week I learned that honeybee propolis (from Ohio, specifically) that's been sitting in Everclear turns into the pure essence of gin. Now, I am an adventurous drinker. I made imitation salmiakkikossu. But I hate gin, and this stuff is like gin times infinity. A friend commented that "it tastes like church." If it wasn't too late and I was totally heartless, I would've mailed some to my Secret Quonsee.
posted by Nomyte at 8:11 PM on November 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

The secret ingredient is Lemmy's urine, folks. It's a closed system. Deep down you've always known this.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:11 PM on November 26, 2012 [9 favorites]

Jager is how I learned to puke at will. After a Willie Nelson concert, I had to drive three hours and go to work. One of our group insisted on shots. I'd not had a beer in at least an hour, and had no buzz whatsoever, so I relented. He came back from the bar with half-full, 8 oz (220 mL) red plastic cups. and started shouting Chug! Chug!

I'm not one to say "no" when an ex-Marine says Chug. However, I excused myself and horked in the john. It's not tough - just kinda try to get that tendon on the bottom of your tongue wedged between your lower teeth and breath shallow over your tonsils.

Indeed, if you think it's time for Jager, it's time to go home.
posted by notsnot at 8:19 PM on November 26, 2012

Nomyte: "If it wasn't too late and I was totally heartless, I would've mailed some to my Secret Quonsee."

Oh darn, did I miss the sign up for Secret Quonsee? Drats. Also, Jägermeister..blarg. But this Gin thing you mention Nomyte...that I'll have to try.
posted by dejah420 at 8:19 PM on November 26, 2012

Well, you know what the French say: Quonsee, Quonsar. If I can find a suitable small vessel, I would be happy to send you a small sample of this vile poison.
posted by Nomyte at 8:21 PM on November 26, 2012

Every memory I have of drinking jäger is memorable in one bad way or another. It's great when you're 20 and you want to end the night with pants around your ankles singing "Tom Waits is God" with your best friends while you all spray warm Michelob all over each other.
Good times.
posted by roboton666 at 8:24 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gin is what you drink when you run out of after-shave.
posted by Pudhoho at 8:25 PM on November 26, 2012 [4 favorites]

I love Jagermeister. This is slightly embarrassing since I'm a woman in my 30s and like to sip it, on ice or just extra cold, after dinner sometimes. It hits that same bitter herbal note that Fernet Branca does, but it's sweeter. I always feel like a frat boy when I buy it.
posted by apricot at 8:32 PM on November 26, 2012 [5 favorites]

To my personal palate, the only acceptable time for Jaeger is while snowboarding. For some reason it's pretty good while you're on the mountain (my flask still is a whiskey-only area, but that's invariant).

I find Frenet to be a better early indication that the night is going to leave even the idea of the rails behind.
posted by flaterik at 8:33 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

I find that if I am drinking Fernet, it usually means that there is an Argentine in the vicinity and I am going to be yelling drunk Spanish soon.
posted by A Bad Catholic at 8:46 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Having never heard of the stuff I was disappointed to learn that Unicum is not in fact the spilled seed of unicorns which I was quite ready to believe tastes like ("Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Jagermeister").
posted by Long Way To Go at 8:52 PM on November 26, 2012 [6 favorites]

I am convinced that Christopher Nolan's use of Fernet Branca as Alfred's drink of choice in The Dark Knight Rises was a cruel joke on unsuspecting fans who might give it a try after seeing the movie.
posted by jedicus at 8:59 PM on November 26, 2012 [4 favorites]

The ingredients are the things that go into the drink, but the real power of Jagermeister is the exgredients, the specific items that provide the context and surrounding for Jagermeister-drinking.

Here is the recipe: Take two parts lonely twenty-something males, mix with two parts lonely twenty-something females, add a fraternity party for some real kick, and blend endlessly with complete ignorance of cocktail culture and a dash of "I don't care if tastes like cough syrup and has lower alcohol than other drinks because it's cool anyway."
posted by twoleftfeet at 9:57 PM on November 26, 2012

a bar-owner i once knew used to drink a bottle a night of this stuff on a pretty regular basis. in public, having a good time. life's weird.
posted by facetious at 10:18 PM on November 26, 2012

I have been to the distillery in Wolfenbuttel (home of the Oculists of FPP passim) and they have on a table in the front room of the distillery a table with all 121 spices that are mixed in, unnamed. I am sure a group of people could figure it out in a series of tours over several weeks. Tours are only on Tuesday unless you claim to be from a college newspaper and complain that you went all out of your way for nothing if you don't get in.
posted by parmanparman at 10:24 PM on November 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jägerbombs!
posted by anewnadir at 10:31 PM on November 26, 2012

Honestly, anything licorice is a no-go for me. A friend who was leaving Japan gifted me with her barely sipped upon bottle of absinthe. I thought, hey, this'll be great! Woohoo! I looked up a recipe for drinking it (the sort with the strained sugar and such), made it, and took a sip. I gagged, but managed to keep it down. I even tried pinching my nose shut to block the smell (hint, does not work), but it was useless. I ended up pouring it down the sink, which was a bad idea, and the sink stank of licorice for about six months. Every time I ran water down the sink, after the sink drained, the stench would flow up from the depths.

From beneath you, it stinks up your kitchen.
posted by Ghidorah at 11:52 PM on November 26, 2012 [7 favorites]

I like Jägermeister, and I`m not shy to admit it. That sort of thing is just what germans drink to relax and digest after a heavy meal. The stuff you really need to watch out for is what my mother brings back every time they visit certain relatives in germany. It`s called Berg Teuffel (translation: mountain devil). It`s made in a small town in austria, the label is this roughly printed gargoyle creature who strongly resembles how you are going to feel the next day. In the glass, it`s gark green. and also dark red. I don`t know how they manage for it to be those two colours at the same time but that really should serve as a warning to you. It`s sweet and spicy and herbal and overproof all to hell and she will just keep pouring both of you little cut-crystal glasses of the stuff until neither of you have any fucking idea what you are talking about anymore and your dad looks down his moustache at the two of you and says `the bus is leaving`which basically means that he`s driving you home before you fall asleep on the dining room table. It`s awesome!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:21 AM on November 27, 2012 [13 favorites]

For compleatists: here's a collector's gallery of hundreds of the original ads from the stuff's legendary campaign I drink Jägermeister because... (including Klaus Nomi).
posted by progosk at 12:24 AM on November 27, 2012

Oilcans - Jäger + Rumplemintz, 50/50. Tastes surprisingly not as nasty as you would suspect, and gets you where you want to be, express style. Got introduced to them a while back at a Halloween party. Served in the obligatory part accoutrement, the red plastic Dixie cup well chilled.

And had my first real absinthe experience a few years back, thanks to Metafilter. There was an FPP about it, which led me to research it, which led to me spending $130 US for some French distilled stuff via a distributor in the UK. According to the courier documents, what I actually purchased was a slotted spoon (yes, I drink it ala mode Parisienne) and a nifty printed label that just happened to be attached to a bottle with some stuff in it. It was amusing and another tick off my bucket list, but methinks I shan't do it regularly.
posted by Samizdata at 12:33 AM on November 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

emjaybee: "So! I have an anecdote!

Glen Phillips came to town last week and my husband went to see him. Glen came out after the show for a drink. His fans had filled up the place, but the bartender still wouldn't give him a shot of Jagermeister because that wasn't on the Allowed Free Booze for Performers list, even though, you know, he's Glen fucking Phillips. Glen sighed and paid for his shot.

So my husband asks him why he drank it, and Glen said it was apparently really good for a throat sore from singing all night."

Wow, I sort of knew him way back when TTWS was doing party gigs. Cool.
posted by Samizdata at 12:36 AM on November 27, 2012

Park-Davis Throat Discs.
posted by Goofyy at 1:07 AM on November 27, 2012

When I was young everyone I knew (except me) liked to drink their Jäger as Surfers on Acid. That is Jäger mixed with Malibu Coconut Rum and Pineapple Juice in a shot glass and downed before you can taste it. For reals. People do this. I've seen them.
posted by fshgrl at 1:21 AM on November 27, 2012

A couple of times I took early-morning flights from the town where I then lived in Southeastern Sweden over to Copenhagen courtesy of a small Danish-owned airline (now defunct) called 'Muk Air'. A shot of Jägermeister was one of the breakfast options on this service…
posted by misteraitch at 3:36 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jager or Fernet over crushed ice, drunk slowly, is (was) my go-to for hangovers. Usually with creme de menthe.

It tastes like medicine because IT IS MEDICINE.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:39 AM on November 27, 2012

A shot of Jägermeister was one of the breakfast options on this service…

Why would a Danish owned airline serve Jägermeister when they've got Gammel Dansk? That's pretty much an outrage, right there. The person who took that decision should get fired once again, retroactively.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 4:40 AM on November 27, 2012

Someone humour me - why does Jager apparently have this reputation? I just looked it up expecting it to be some over-proof test of your alcohol tolerance and liver strength, but it's 35% ABV - weaker than most vodka, rum, whisky, gin, etc...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 5:04 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

why does Jager apparently have this reputation

Because Sidney Frank (d. 2006) (wiki) is a marketing genius.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:15 AM on November 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Someone humour me - why does Jager apparently have this reputation? I just looked it up expecting it to be some over-proof test of your alcohol tolerance and liver strength, but it's 35% ABV - weaker than most vodka, rum, whisky, gin, etc...

I think some of it has to do with the frequency with which Americans drink it with Red Bull, so they're getting drunk and energetic which is generally worse.

I've also never had Jager, but nothing about it has ever really appealed to me. Do people not know that bourbon exists? It's higher proof and is absolutely delicious. Beer, wine, cocktails, bourbon (in order of desired drunkening speed) this all a person needs in life.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:18 AM on November 27, 2012

Why would a Danish owned airline serve Jägermeister when they've got Gammel Dansk?

Err… it was Gammel Dansk now I think about it, and not Jägermeister at all. Please forget I mentioned it and re-instate the employee in question.
posted by misteraitch at 5:44 AM on November 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Last time I tried some Jägermeister was up in the catwalks of the Worcester Centrum during a Rush concert, from a bottle that had been smuggled into the show down the front of someone's pants.

It seemed so in line with the spirit of the stuff that How Could I Say No?
posted by wenestvedt at 6:23 AM on November 27, 2012

The stuff you really need to watch out for is what my mother brings back every time they visit certain relatives in germany. It`s called Berg Teuffel (translation: mountain devil). It`s made in a small town in austria, the label is this roughly printed gargoyle creature who strongly resembles how you are going to feel the next day.

In my family it's something called krupnik. Our neighbors introduced it to us (read: their dad introduced it to my dad) when you still had to specially order it from Poland. For years, all the dads retiring to the garage for krupnik shots was an intregal part of our neighborhood's house parties. I was still not much of a drinker so I steered clear.

When that same neighbor married off his daughter, there were several cases of krupnik at hand, and something made me finally do a shot of the stuff. It was delicious - but it got me from being stone-sober to drunk in under a minute. Not just buzzed, DRUNK. I just walked unsteadily to the nearest chair and decided that perhaps I ought to stick to ginger ale for the rest of the afternoon.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:30 AM on November 27, 2012 [6 favorites]

Becherovka: Worse than Jäger, better than Unicum.
posted by Kabanos at 7:18 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Someone humour me - why does Jager apparently have this reputation?

It's the marketing which leads to groups of college kids doing Jager shots all night long which leads to copious vomiting and oaths never to touch it again. Here in Texas it seems like cheap tequila is marginally more often the culprit, but I know quite a few people with a "Jager incident" in their pasts.

(My only tale of alcohol horror involved Absolut Curant and strawberry 7-Up, taken for menstrual cramps after eating nothing all day. The treatment failed. Spectacularly.)
posted by restless_nomad at 7:30 AM on November 27, 2012

...but I know quite a few people with a "Jager incident" in their pasts.

See also: Goldschläger
posted by orme at 7:34 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Others say: Failure, sadness, pain, suffering, misery, bitter tears, the sound of crying puppies, a hand caught in a meat grinder and kerosene.
posted by Splunge at 7:39 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

when i was around 40 i drank a bottle of Jager with a bunch of German students and ended up making out with a 20 year old on the roof of the Chelsea hotel. they all said that no one in Germany drinks it and that it was made solely for the American market. still it does lead to making out with 20 year olds which shows its strange powers for both good and evil; often combined.

i prefer WurzelPeter myself, which has its own mythic effects. namely reducing adults to the state where furniture gets broken, everyone falls down at least once, someone gets punched in the face, two TV show get born (one of which goes into contract) and strange but oddly correct couples are formed.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 8:27 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Just came in here to mention Gammel Dansk. I See someone else already has.

Also seems they share some similar ingredients. Gammel Dansk is one of the strangest, most-foul yet "sure I'd have a bit more of that stuff", beverages I've ever had. Can't imagine drinking it cold though.

IANAJD though
posted by Windopaene at 9:41 AM on November 27, 2012

See also: Goldschläger

I recently learned that Goldschlager apparently pre-dates Big Red, so I guess Big Red tastes like Goldschlager and not the other way around. It was pretty confusing information.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:58 AM on November 27, 2012

To the gentleperson who called it "worst drink ever," you've obviously never tried Fernet Branca.

There are also other Kräuterlikör you can get in German grocery stores... right by the cash so that the alcoholics don't have to go too far and the old men can pick up a teensy-weensy bottle for the way home (for their health). These are almost certainly far worse than Jäger, though I haven't had the audacity to try them.
posted by sixohsix at 11:53 AM on November 27, 2012

I knew a guy named Todd that only drank Jager shots, straight up, at my local pub. He'd seem perfectly reasonable and generally sober... until he fell backwards off of his bar stool. The bar was small so that included hitting his head against the wall.

When I was hired as a bartender there I refused to serve him Jager. Which was okay because he didn't like me anyway. He turned out to be perfectly able to get shitfaced on other alcohol. But he didn't fall off of his stool anymore.
posted by Splunge at 12:04 PM on November 27, 2012

Ouzu will take you higher, much.
posted by Twang at 12:30 PM on November 27, 2012

DJ: "During this song only, Jaeger shots are $1."
Rob: "I'll be right back."
Me: "Dude, there's only 4 of us here. You just dropped a 20 at the bar?"
Rob: "Drink up."


That's usually how it starts...
posted by Chuffy at 1:58 PM on November 27, 2012

I've never had an issue with being FAR TOO DRUNK in Jäger, but for some goddamn reason I can't touch the stuff without, at some point, speaking to an officer of the law. It hasn't always been because of something I did, but no matter what, if I touch the stuff, I have to accept the fact that at some point, I will be speaking to a cop.

Haven't touched the stuff since 2005 and the White Castle Drive-Thru incident.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:02 PM on November 27, 2012

That sort of thing is just what germans drink to relax and digest after a heavy meal.

Yes. This is what Jägermeister is for. Yes.
posted by infinitywaltz at 3:56 PM on November 27, 2012

I recently learned that Goldschlager apparently pre-dates Big Red, so I guess Big Red tastes like Goldschlager and not the other way around. It was pretty confusing information.

I'm sure "Flavor this with cinnamon!" is a bright idea many have had over the years.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:04 PM on November 27, 2012

Add gold leaf was probably thought up after a particularly serious drinking binge.
posted by Splunge at 6:35 PM on November 27, 2012

It's not just cinnamon though. It's a very particular mix of cinnamon and chalk dust. On Big Red you can see the chalk layer, on Goldschlager it's just in there somehow.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:00 PM on November 27, 2012

I grew up in a house where bitters were a normal after-dinner type of drink, including Jägermeister. It was one of those things that I always had with my dad and all the old men at his German club. It was never chilled, and depending on the company was drunk from a small shot glass or in a tumbler. I've always enjoyed it drinking it. The change to being marketed as a frat-boy drink in my university years annoyed me to no end because the price suddenly went up.

Anyways, there are a lot of other nice herbal bitters out there. One of my favourites is Riga Black Balsam. You pour that in tiny glasses., because a little goes a long way. It is as black as tar, and is sipped slowly. Compared to it, Jagermeister is a drink for children and invalids. Even the mighty Unicum, which takes the word "bitter" very seriously is only a shadow of the Black Balsam. According to the company, Catharine the Great drank the stuff.
posted by fimbulvetr at 6:56 AM on November 28, 2012

Becherovka: Worse than Jäger, better than Unicum.

Seconded, Kabanos. And I'm saying this as someone who has both Becherovka and Zwack in the house right now. Oh, and crazy slivovice my MIL brought back from Hungary.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:35 AM on November 28, 2012

posted by bitter-girl.com

Eponysterical.
posted by Kabanos at 7:48 AM on November 28, 2012

Bulgaroktonos: "Someone humour me - why does Jager apparently have this reputation? I just looked it up expecting it to be some over-proof test of your alcohol tolerance and liver strength, but it's 35% ABV - weaker than most vodka, rum, whisky, gin, etc...

I think some of it has to do with the frequency with which Americans drink it with Red Bull, so they're getting drunk and energetic which is generally worse.

I've also never had Jager, but nothing about it has ever really appealed to me. Do people not know that bourbon exists? It's higher proof and is absolutely delicious. Beer, wine, cocktails, bourbon (in order of desired drunkening speed) this all a person needs in life."

Of course, never underestimate the, ummmm, joys of being able to do stupid drunkard stuff faster and stronger than ever before!
posted by Samizdata at 4:49 PM on November 28, 2012

Twang: "Ouzu will take you higher, much."

And, between that and sake, I have discovered the secret to, erm, encouraging people to disrobe.

Favorite ouzo story, at a wonderful fun drunken party at a friend's house back in Santa Barbara many, many years ago, I remember one of my friends was tending bar. Amateur, mind you, which was made blindingly clear when he shouted "Ouzo hour!" and promptly collapsed backwards, destroying two foam coolers.
posted by Samizdata at 4:54 PM on November 28, 2012

And tequila, or, as I know it, takillya is my alcoholic Kryptonite. Get me to drink tequila again and I guarantee behaviour of the most idiotic calibre.
posted by Samizdata at 4:59 PM on November 28, 2012