I wanted to try something different so I thought I would try making some classic cocktails substituting Genever for gin. If you’ve heard of Genever at all you might think it’s Dutch gin but that’s a misconception.
Genever is the Dutch word for “juniper”. Juniper berries are a used as a main botanical in making gin, and also must be present in Genever but it doesn’t have to be the dominant botanical used. The main difference in Gin and Genever is the malt wine used to make Genever. Gin uses a neutral spirit and the botanticals are distilled in a pot still and added to the neutral spirit. Genever adds in the malt wine distilled from a mash of rye, wheat, corn and malted barley. This is a totally different flavor profile than a London Dry Gin.
Bols Genever is the original Dutch Genever and has been in production since 1644. The current Bols Genever is still produced with Dutch grains and a complex botanical mix using an original 1820 recipe created by Lucas Bols. So I grabbed a bottle and checked out a couple of classic recipes using the Genever as substitute for gin. I found the Genever to be more earthy than botanical. I am guessing that is the malt wine base. It was like drinking a very dry red wine. That was the mouth feel I got from both cocktails. For something different, I thought they were very a good choice. ~~Kay
Dutch Negroni
- 1 1/2 ounce Bols Genever
- 1 ounce Campari
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth (Dolin is good, if you want to go a little high end, try Cocchi Torino)
Fill a high ball glass with ice and add Bols Genever, Campari and Sweet Vermouth. Stir and garnish with an orange peel.
Simple and a great drink for before dinner.
The Holland House
- 1 3/4 ounces Bols Genever
- 3/4 ounce Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
- 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 ounce Maraschino Liqueur
Glass – Chilled deep coupe
Garnish – Lemon peel
Add all ingredients in a shaker, fill with ice and shake about 10 seconds. Strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with the lemon peel.
The Firecracker Cocktail
With watermelon season in full swing, I thought this would be a fun drink for a summer afternoon. Enjoy! ~~Lynda
Makes 2 cocktails.
- 4 watermelon chunks
- 3 oz rum (I used Flor de Cana)
- 1 oz Triple sec
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz simple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Muddle the watermelon in a mixing glass. Add remaining ingredients and ice and stir. The original recipe called for pouring unstrained into a cocktail or margarita glass but I decided to strain mine and pour into a glass of fresh ice. Garnish with lime wedge.
Note: This is a spicy drink so if you want a little less heat, decrease the cayenne pepper.
Thanks for reading. Do you have any special “Drinks of Summer”? Share them with us in the comments.
