Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/832383
82 / the tasting panel / june 2017 Machine, which not only brought the brand out of the freezer and onto the bar, but also made Jägermeister the first-ever tapped spirit. "Sidney Frank was a true innovator, transforming Jägermeister into a bold and powerful brand that became synonymous with the ultimate ice cold shot," says Jeffrey Popkin, CEO of Mast-Jägermeister U.S. "We're proud to continue his legacy of innovation and brand building under one name, as one family and one success story." At this year's Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America convention in Orlando, we caught up with Chris Peddy, Chief Marketing Officer for Mast-Jägermeister U.S., who walked us through the "Deutsche after Dark" party—and the metamorphosis of the 70-proof brand. The atmosphere was representative of "dark fun" from an underground nightclub in Berlin. "We're embarking on a relaunch to Millennials from a one-dimensional Jäger bomb [shot] to a more developed, cool, complex and high quality spirit," Peddy pointed out. "Not to say that our ice-cold shot is among the most embraced method that will continue, thanks to our ice shot machines, but Jägermeister is also being devel- oped as a foundation of some very innovative cocktails," Peddy continued. The original shot machines, created by Sidney Frank, chill the liquid to the "perfect serve" of minus 18 degrees centigrade (four degrees Fahrenheit). "We're still the inimitable shot brand," Peddy confesses. "And we'll still be that timeless brand 100 years from now." For bartenders who want to relay a back story on the brands they pour, Jägermeister certainly offers its own unique history, its own terroir and a fam- ily tree dating back 80 years. The updated bottle, in its unbreakable packaging, represents the hunting culture of Saxony, in eastern Germany. LIQUEURS The Marketing Meister: Chris Peddy, Chief Marketing Officer for Mast- Jägermeister U.S. A BITTERS REVOLUTION A dash of this, a drop of that. Bitters have come into the foreground as the most botanically inspired ingre- dients in modern cocktails. "But Jägermeister is really the original bitter," notes Peddy. With 56 proprietary herbs and spices, each batch of Jägermeister undergoes much internal scrutiny before being bottled. According to Peddy, 383 quality preci- sion checks are processed to insure quality. "That's German precision at its top form," he adds.