The juniper-flavoured Dutch national spirit and the ancestor of English gin, distilled from malt wine (moutwijn). It is poured to the brim of a small tulip-shaped glass and traditionally sipped alongside a beer in a ritual called a kopstootje.
Jenever was developed in the Low Countries by the 16th and 17th centuries, with the physician Sylvius de Bouve and Dutch distillers credited in its lore, and the town of Schiedam became its great production hub. When English soldiers fighting in the Low Countries discovered its courage-giving warmth, they carried the taste home, where it was anglicised into gin, giving rise to the phrase 'Dutch courage'.
Young jenever is clean and grain-forward with a soft juniper whisper, while aged oude jenever is rounder, maltier and faintly woody, closer to a light whisky than to modern gin. Served ice-cold and brimful, the first sip must be taken by bending to the glass without lifting it. It warms the chest and pairs perfectly with the bitter snap of a beer chaser.
Distilling from a full malt-wine base rather than neutral spirit is what gives jenever its grainy backbone and distinguishes it from London gin. Cask ageing then introduces oak compounds and oxidation that mellow the spirit and lend the colour and roundness of oude jenever.
Variations
jonge (young), oude (aged), korenwijn (extra malty barrel-aged), bessenjenever (blackcurrant), served as a kopstootje with beer
On the Palate
Where Jenever sits in the Dutch flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 130 min
Mash malted barley, rye and corn, then ferment into a beer-like wash.
- 260 min
Distill the wash in a pot still to produce malt wine, or moutwijn.
Watch outThe pot-still run must come off a full malt-wine base, not neutral spirit — that grainy backbone is what makes it jenever and not gin.
- 310 min
Add juniper berries and botanicals such as coriander and angelica.
- 460 min
Redistill the spirit with the botanicals to capture their aromatics.
- 520 min
Collect the heart of the run, discarding the foreshots and tails.
Watch outCut away the foreshots and tails and keep only the heart of the run — the heads carry harsh solvent notes and the tails a fusel heaviness.
- 61440 min
For oude jenever, age the spirit in oak casks for at least one to several years.
- 720 min
Blend and dilute with water to bottling strength of around 35-40 percent.
- 85 min
Chill thoroughly and pour to the brim of a tulip glass to serve.
