Long before Peter Luger became synonymous with porterhouse and schlag, it was a German‑American beer‑hall restaurant in a rapidly changing Brooklyn. That heritage resurfaces in Lugermeister, a new Kräuterlikör created with Faccia Brutto Spirits — a collaboration that bridges old‑world roots with Brooklyn’s modern craft culture at a moment when bitters and aperitifs are quietly climbing.
For Faccia Brutto founder Patrick Miller, the partnership felt almost preordained. “Our shared Brooklyn roots made it a natural first collaboration,” he says in a press release. Known for reinterpreting Italian amari through a contemporary American lens, the team stepped outside its usual wheelhouse to explore German‑style Kräuterlikör — a category best known in the U.S. through Jägermeister, though its cultural role in Germany is far more restrained. There, Kräuterlikör is a digestif, not a party shot, and Lugermeister leans into that lineage.
The spirit begins with neutral grain from upstate New York, macerated with botanicals including poppy seed, gentian, juniper berry, kola nut, licorice root, and sarsaparilla. After a two‑week extraction, it’s sweetened, proofed to 30% ABV, and bottled unaged. The result is a layered digestif with notes of licorice, cacao nib, candied grapefruit, juniper, cinnamon, and toasted poppy — an herbal‑spice profile that nods to both German tradition and Brooklyn craft sensibility. Led by Head of Production Avery Fary, the project took nearly a year and more than a dozen iterations developed alongside the Peter Luger team.
The bottle’s design reinforces the collaboration’s thesis. Created by longtime Faccia Brutto collaborator Garrett Elizabeth Office, the label pairs the distillery’s Art Deco typography with an illustration of Peter Luger’s iconic Williamsburg corner façade.
For Peter Luger, Lugermeister is part of a broader strategy to bring more offerings in‑house through partnerships with standout producers. “We love working with and showcasing outstanding Brooklyn‑based producers whenever possible,” says Daniel Turtel, VP of Peter Luger Steak House. The restaurant already pours a house lager brewed in Gowanus with Threes Brewing and a private‑label Cabernet from Napa; Lugermeister marks its first custom spirit.
The timing is strategic. According to IWSR’s mid‑year 2025 data, bitters and spirit aperitifs grew 3% in volume across 20 key global markets, driven by consumer interest in complex, bitter‑leaning flavor profiles. That momentum has helped push amaro and herbal liqueurs deeper into cocktail culture — a trend Lugermeister is well positioned to ride.
On the menu, the amaro is designed to be versatile: served neat after dinner, stirred into hot coffee topped with schlag, or used in a Black Manhattan.
Lugermeister is available exclusively at Peter Luger locations in New York, with Las Vegas to follow, and bottles are sold online via Faccia Brutto and Astor Wine & Spirits (750 ml; $45).