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Jenever (English:/dʒəˈniːvər/,[1]Dutch:[jəˈneːvər]ⓘ), also known asHollands,genever,[2]genièvre,pekèt,[3] or sometimes asDutch gin (archaic:Holland gin[4] orGeneva gin), is thejuniper-flavoured traditionalliquor in the Netherlands, Belgium, and adjoining areas in northern France and northwestern Germany. As an EU and UKprotected designation of origin, the termjenever and its soundalikes can only be used if the product is made according to the specifications in Belgium, the Netherlands, and small regions of France and Germany.[5][6]Gin was developed in Britain after the introduction of jenever to the island.[7]
Jenever was originally produced bydistillingmalt wine (moutwijn in Dutch)[2] to 50%alcohol by volume. Because the resulting spirit was not palatable due to the lack of refined distilling techniques (with only thepot still available), herbs were added to mask the flavour.[citation needed] Thejuniper berry (which comes from the Latinjuniperus), hence the namejenever (and the English namegin), was used for its alleged medicinal benefits.[8][3]
At least in some regions, such as aroundOmmen inOverijssel,Netherlands,[9] jenever is distilled fromspelt, an old variety of wheat.[10]
The first written references to genever (or jenever) are found in scientific papers written by several Flemish authors.Jacob van Maerlant (Bruges, 1235 – 1300) described how to add parts of the juniper tree to a spirit made of distilling wine in his bookDer Naturen Bloeme, published in 1266. It was the first writing of distilling in Dutch and had to do with the juniper tree. Later on, in 1522, the Antwerp-based doctor Phillipus Hermanni wrote the first recipe for genever. He described how to mix crushed juniper berries with wine and distill it afterwards. The very first versions of genever were being made for medical purposes and came from distilled wine. Later on, when cold periods drove out the vineyards in Flanders, it was replaced by distilling beer, calling it malt wine.
There is tradition that attributes the invention of jenever to the Dutch chemist andalchemistFranciscus Sylvius de Bouve[11] (1614–1672). However, the evidence suggests that jenever was already known and used as a medicine in the 1500s.[2] Already by 1606 (several years before Sylvius's birth), the Dutch had levied taxes on jenever and similar liquors as alcoholic drinks, suggesting that jenever had by then stopped being considered a medicinal remedy. Furthermore, prior to Sylvius's tenth birthday, jenever appeared inPhilip Massinger's 1623 play,The Duke of Milan, which referred to the drink as "geneva".Geneva was the Anglicized name for jenever (even though the drink has no relation to theSwiss city ofGeneva), a name that English soldiers had brought back with them when returning from battle in theLow Countries, first in 1587 (well before Sylvius's birth) and again during the early 1600s.
Since the 1950s, Dutchflag carrier airlineKLM has issued a series ofDelft Blue houses modelled on buildings in the Netherlands filled with jenever, which are presented to passengers.
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There are two types of jenever:oude (old) andjonge (young). This is not a matter of aging, but of distilling techniques.[12][5] Around 1900, it became possible to distill a high-grade type of alcohol that was almost neutral in taste, independent of the origin of the spirit. A worldwide tendency for a lighter and less dominant taste, as well as lower prices, led to the development ofblended whisky in Scotland and in the Netherlands toJonge Jenever. DuringWorld War I, the lack of imported cereals — and hence malt — forced the promotion of this blend. Alcohol derived frommolasses from thesugar beet industry was used as an alternative to grain spirit. People started using the termsoude for the old-style jenever andjonge for the new style, which contains more grain instead of malt and can even contain plain sugar-based alcohol.
In modern times, jenever distilled from grain and malt only is labelledGraanjenever.Jonge jenever can contain no more than 15% malt wine and 10 grams of sugar per litre.Oude jenever must contain at least 15% malt wine but no more than 20 g of sugar per litre.Korenwijn (grain wine) is a drink very similar to the 18th-century-style jenever and is often matured for a few years in an oak cask; it contains from 51% to 70% malt wine and up to 20 g/L of sugar. Although the nameoude jenever does not necessarily mean that the jenever is in fact old, there are some distilleries that age their jenever in oak barrels.[2]
About 90% of allJonge Jenever sold on the market is a blend of malt wine produced byFilliers in Belgium, sugar beet or grain based ethyl alcohol from factories in Germany, France, and (mostly) Russia, and water.[citation needed] Most of the bigger brands contain no malt wine, so they resemble, in essence, vodka. Distilleries in Belgium and the Netherlands actually distill jenever, which mostly produces limited volumes of specialty drinks.
As of 2021, an estimated 98% of genever sold wasjonge.[5]
Jonge jenever has a neutral taste, likevodka, with a slight aroma of juniper and malt wine.Oude jenever has a smoother, very aromatic taste with malty flavours.Oude jenever is sometimes aged in wood; its malty, woody, and smoky flavours resemblewhisky. Different grains used in the production process — such as barley, wheat,spelt, and rye — produce different flavoured jenevers. The taste is sometimes enhanced by adopting barrels previously used for American whiskey.
Hasselt,[12]Deinze,Aalst, andLiège in Belgium,[13] andSchiedam,Groningen,Amsterdam, andDelft in the Netherlands, are well known for their jenevers and often referred to as "jenever cities" (jeneversteden). In Amsterdam, jenever is made byThe Stillery,Van Wees,andWynand Fockink. Well-known Schiedam jenever distilleries includeNolet,Onder De Boompjes,Herman Jansen, andDe Kuyper. (Jenever can appear under the English-language name "schiedam".) Near the Dutch-Belgian border, inBaarle-Nassau,Zuidam produces traditional jenevers and Dutch liquors. Other jenever cities in the Netherlands areGroningen (Hooghoudt) andDordrecht (Rutte Distillery[14]). In Belgium,Deinze is very well known for theFilliers distillery, andAalst is well known forStokerij De Moor andStokerij Van Der Schueren, both still active today.Hasselt styles itself as Belgium's jenever capital and has a museum dedicated to the drink. Also with the Biercée Distillery in Wallonia, one of only two Belgian distilleries to export their genever to the USA.
Dutch-basedLucas Bols produces and sellsoude genever, known asginebra in Spanish, inSouth America.Ketel One is now more known for producingvodka, but it started out as, and still is, a jenever distillery.
Traditionally, the drink is served in a tulip-shaped glass filled to the brim, with the surface tension enabling the jenever to rise higher than the glass's edge.Jonge jenever, colloquially ajonkie ("young'un"), is usually served at room temperature, sometimes (though this is now quite old-fashioned) with some sugar and a tiny spoon to stir. The drink is sometimes served cold from a bottle kept in a freezer or on the rocks (jonge met ijs). The higher-qualityoude jenever (andkorenwijn) is usually served at room temperature. When jenever is drunk alongside beer (normally lager) as a chaser, it is referred to as akopstoot (headbutt), when the glass of jenever is dipped into the beer glass, it is called aduikboot (submarine) in Flanders and the South of Holland. Traditionally, jenever is served in full shot-glasses taken directly from the freezer. As the glass is very full, it is advisable to take the first sip without holding the glass, leaving it on the table, and bending one's back to apply one's mouth to the glass.[15] In the Netherlands, this method of drinking is known as the "kopstootje" or "little head-butt".[16][8]
Recognized for its historic and cultural contribution, and subject to production specifications, the European Union protected genever with 11 specific types of jenever as ageographical indication:
The names Genièvre and Genièvre de Jura are also protected geographical indications of Switzerland (recognised in the EU).
Protection as a geographical indication of Jenever also applies in Armenia, China, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Moldova, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Japan.[17]
Media related toJenever at Wikimedia Commons
