Genever
The oldest Dutch distilled spirit, and the drink from which gin evolved. What genever actually is, why 'old' has nothing to do with age, and which glass to serve it in.
The best-known genever brands
Four Dutch names you'll find on every shelf and in every café.
Bokma
The square bottle that is round on the inside, and the brand that put grain genever on the map in 1966.
About Bokma →Ketel 1
Young genever from Schiedam, distilled in a copper still. The bottle that brought genever back to a younger audience.
About Ketel 1 →Bols
The oldest distillery brand in the world, and the house that brought genever to the world.
About Bols →
Hooghoudt
Groningen family business, known for its genever and for the beerenburg displayed next to it on the shelf.
About Hooghoudt →Every genever listed by brand
5 brands and 12 flavors, each with its own page about flavor, cocktails, and the right glass.
Jong and oud do not refer to age
Jenever is a Dutch and Belgian distilled spirit made from grain alcohol with juniper, and almost always containing malt wine. That malt wine is the difference from gin: it is a spirit distilled from malted grain that resembles young whisky, giving jenever its grainy, malty character. Where gin is piney and dry, jenever is fuller and softer. The name is protected: only the Netherlands, Belgium and two French and German border regions may use it.
The biggest misunderstanding lies in the words jong and oud. They do not refer to aging but to the style. Oude jenever is the original type, with lots of malt wine, making it fuller and sweeter. Jonge jenever only emerged in the twentieth century, when a lighter and more neutral flavor became fashionable; it contains little malt wine. Only bottles with a year on them, such as a five- or ten-year-old jenever, have actually been aged in a wooden barrel.
In brief
Four styles, and where the difference lies
The more malt wine it contains, the fuller and grainier the jenever. That is the whole key to this shelf.
Young jenever
Little malt wine, so light and fairly neutral, with juniper in the background. The bottle that belongs in the freezer and the fixed half of a kopstoot.
Oude jenever
More malt wine, making it fuller, sweeter and grainier. The original style, and confusingly the only one in which 'old' says nothing about age.
Very old genever
Even more malt wine than regular oude jenever, bringing the spirit closer to whisky. Full-bodied, rounded and slightly sweet.
Aged jenever
Genuinely aged for years in oak, with a vintage year on the bottle. The juniper recedes, replaced by vanilla, nuts and wood.
Korenwijn contains at least 51% malt wine and no more than 20 grams of sugar per liter. It is the fullest style there is.
Grainy and malty, with juniper underneath
Grain & juniper
Lightly malty grain with juniper underneath, and a fresh, spicy note. With an oude jenever, this is accompanied by noticeably more sweetness.
Soft and grainy
Dry and grainy in a young jenever, full-bodied and slightly sweet in an oude jenever. In both cases, softer than gin because the malt wine rounds off the sharp edges.
Short and clean
A short, dry finish with grain. With aged jenever, it becomes longer and warmer, with vanilla and oak.
Flavor profile of a young jenever. Oude jenever and korenwijn score higher in sweetness; aged jenever scores higher in sweetness and strength.
Three ways to drink jenever
Young jenever should be ice-cold, while oude and aged jenever should not. That difference matters more than the price of the bottle.
Ice-cold, to the brim
Put the bottle in the freezer and fill the tulip glass right to the brim. Take the first sip with your hands behind your back, bent over the glass: that way you do not spill, and that is how it is done in a café.
Glass: jenever glass →As a kopstoot
A full tulip glass of young jenever beside a glass of lager. First sip the jenever from the rim, then follow it with the beer. The combination is more Dutch than any cocktail.
Kopstoot →Oude and aged, neat
4 cl in a tumbler or tasting glass, at room temperature. An oude jenever or korenwijn does not need that chill; serving it cold actually suppresses the maltiness you want to taste.
Glass: tumbler →Jenever cocktails
Several classics we now make with gin were originally made with jenever. You can simply turn them back.
Kopstoot
A full glass of jenever beside a glass of lager. Not a cocktail, but a classic.
Amsterdam Sour
Jenever with lemon, sugar and egg white. The Dutch take on the sour.
John Collins
Lemon, sugar and sparkling water. The original version was made with jenever.
Dutch Martini
Dry vermouth with jenever instead of gin. Fuller and grainier than the original.The right glass for jenever
A tulip-shaped stemmed glass for ice-cold jenever filled to the rim, and a tumbler or shot glass for old and aged jenever. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about jenever
Can't find your question? Check out our cocktail recipes or get in touch.
To the cocktail recipes →