Dutch Gin

Dutch gin can refer to the spirit we know love and today as ‘gin’, just made in the Netherlands. But the history of that spirit is traced back to a Dutch drink called genever. The word genever, or jenver, is the Dutch word juniper, the essential botanical in gin. This got Anglicised to 'ginever' and then finally to 'gin’. One story says the term ‘Dutch courage’ came from English soldiers fighting in the Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1674) or the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), who used jenever (or Dutch gin) to calm and warm themselves. Genever is produced using a combination of malt wine (moutwijn) and botanicals such as juniper, coriander, and anise. The production process begins with the fermentation of grains like barley, rye, and corn, which is then distilled to create a malt wine base. This base is redistilled with botanicals to infuse the spirit with its characteristic flavours. There are two main styles of genever: oude (old) and jonge (young), differing in their malt wine content and flavour profiles. Dutch gin is typically enjoyed neat or in traditional cocktails like the kopstootje.