Zuidam Distillers was founded by Fred van Zuidam in 1975, under the name Baarle International. He had previously taken care of production, purchasing and recipes at De Kuyper in Schiedam for around twenty years before he felt it was time to start his own company. He purchased a piece of land in Baarle Nassau and built his distillery there, motivated by an ambition to create quality Dutch liqueurs with only the use of second-hand boilers, a filling barrel and some tanks.
Zuidam Distillers has come a long way since its modest beginnings in 1975, and it is safe to say that is has been a successful venture. It has prospered through an ability to retain the Zuidam family ownership and a core of traditional methodology, while simultaneously adapting to modern techniques and practices and achieving international renown. It currently creates a wide range of spirits, including chic genevers, gin and the first Dutch whiskey, Millstone. Whether its creating gin, genever or rum, Zuidam is one of the last independent distilleries in the Netherlands that still makes and processes all its distillates and extracts in a traditional way - with only pure raw materials. No artificial fragrances, colours or flavours what-so-ever..