Neither. It's just for flare, they do similar things with desserts and such. There's less than a dollar worth of gold in a liter of Goldschlager. By my calculations with the current value of gold there is approximately $0.69 worth of gold in a liter.

I've heard a few people say they can taste a difference because of the gold, but I can't personally. I like Goldschlager by itself more than with J, so I've had a lot of it before, and I think people who claim they can taste the gold are full of shit. Goldschlager is my go-to when Fireball isn't available and I want something cinnamon. For anyone who hasn't had either, they basically taste like the atomic fireball or hot tamale candies. Or Big Red.