Genever
Genever (or jenever) is a spirit originally distilled in the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Germany and France, from which the more familiar spirit of gin eventually evolved. Genever typically combines neutral spirit with malt wine, juniper, and other herbs and spices, all of these varying with the distillery, though it is most closely connected with the Netherlands (which is technically the only country in which it can be made and legally called genever). There are two main types of genever, jonge (young) and oude (old), although the terms do not refer to aging but rather the different ways in which the spirits are distilled, with old genever having more malt wine in the mix. Both can be bottled unaged, or can be aged in oak for as long as the distiller desires and must be bottled at a minimum of 70 proof. (Complicating matters, some distillers do refer to “old” genever as aged stock.) A lesser-known third style, korenwijn (grain wine), must be made with grain alcohol and can be as low as 60 proof. Genever is often served with a chaser, and is traditionally served in a tulip-shaped glass which is filled to the brim. The drinker leans over and sips from the glass before he picks it up to drink the rest.
Top Genever Posts:
Diep9 Genever (Young and Old)
Bols Genever
Hotaling & Co. Genevieve Genever and Barrel Finished Genever
Open since 2017, Portland, Oregon’s all-women operation Freeland Spirits has come out with two new additions to its product line. Joining their standard gin and bourbon, Freeland Spirits is now making a Navy Proof Dry Gin and a product called Geneva, a genever-style gin. Let’s give them a try. Freeland Spirits Dry Gin – This…
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Tenth Ward Distilling can be found in downtown Frederick, Maryland, where it produces a dazzling array of craft spirits, ranging from honeyjack (distilled mead) to Maryland’s only absinthe. Today we look at a pair of releases from Tenth Ward, the aforementioned absinthe and a genever. Tenth Ward Absinthe Nouvelle – “Distilled [from a base of…
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Genever’s modern resurgence can likely be credited to Bols, which brought “the original spirit of Amsterdam” — dating back to the 1500s — back to the market in 2008. Since then, you can’t get away from one genever-based cocktail or another, though many find genever to be a distinctly acquired taste. What’s genever? While it’s…
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Those who say “genever isn’t gin” need to let the folks at San Francisco’s Anchor Distilling — now known as Hotaling & Co. — know. Here, their Genevieve is formally known as “genever-style gin,” and for good reason. While this genever is made from a mash of wheat, barley, and rye malts, distilled in a traditional…
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Genever is a spirit that has lately been wrapped up with gin, but its original recipe was actually closer to a whiskey than a neutral spirit. For the first time in hundreds of years, Lucas Bols is bringing that recipe back. Designed “for collectors and cocktail enthusiasts,” the awkwardly-named Bols Genever 100% Malt Spirit is…
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Over the last year I’ve gotten a little bit into wine. As a whisky guy, my goal was to be able to read a wine list in a restaurant but I quickly became absorbed in a new world, not too dissimilar to the way I fell down the whisky rabbit hole. This process of learning…
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Everything old is new again, not only with classic spirits brands returning to the market but also with the revival of long-forgotten types of spirits, too. Among them are genever and Batavia arrack, a type of gin and rum, respectively, which are both resurging in the industry. By The Dutch is a new brand founded…
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Sons of Liberty distillery is doing some exciting work in the tiny state of Rhode Island. Today we look at two new offerings — an innovative gin and an update to its pumpkin-flavored whiskey. Thoughts follow. Sons of Liberty True Born Genever Style Gin “The Belgian Wheat Act” – How’s this for obsessive. With this…
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We’ve reviewed so little genever here at Drinkhacker that we didn’t even have a separate category for it until I made one just now. A traditional spirit in The Netherlands and Belgium, it’s traditionally made from a distillation of malt wine (a roughly 100 proof distillate from barley), not neutral spirits, then flavored with botanicals similar…
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Two more spirits from Oregon Spirits Distillers in Bend, Oregon — these renditions of those two most classic white spirits, vodka and gin. Let’s taste them together! Oregon Spirit Vodka – Distilled from winter wheat. Very innocuous on the nose, it’s got just some modest hospital notes and a dusting of white grape juice to…
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