Jägermeister New Barrel House

n Kamenz, Saxony, Mast-Jägermeister SE has opened a new barrel warehouse at its bottling site. This is where the base of the famous herbal liqueur matures for several months in large oak barrels before it is bottled. The new building adds room for up to 225 more barrels, each holding up to 10,000 litres.

Designed by CODE UNIQUE Architekten from Dresden, winners of the 2022 invitation competition, the building stretches around 140 metres alongside the existing works. Three timber halls are arranged around a central core that houses the technical systems, the delivery station and the filter rooms.

The façade is clad with Gendai by Nakamoto Forestry: Japanese cedar, charred in Japan using the centuries-old tradition. Brushing removes the loose soot and reveals the grain beneath a deep, dark surface with a soft sheen. It echoes the colour of the liqueur and gives the long building a calm, monolithic presence. Fittingly, a building made to house wooden barrels is itself wrapped in wood.

Sustainability was a guiding principle from the start. The warehouse is built predominantly from renewable, fully recyclable materials, generates power with a photovoltaic system on the roof and manages its own rainwater. The project has received a DGNB Gold pre-certificate.

Gendai fits this concept naturally. The carbonised layer protects the timber against weathering, UV light and insects without chemical wood preservatives, and keeps maintenance to a minimum.

In Kamenz, Japanese craftsmanship gives a German icon a fitting home: dark, durable and made of wood, just like the barrels inside.

Yakisugi product used in this project: