Bokma Jonge Graanjenever

Strong caramel, malty, sweet, spiced, aftertaste, almost no smoke

Nose: Faint grain-spirit aromas, barely toasted white bread, fleeting wisps of juniper. Palate: Slightly sweet with a nebulous herbal quality. A neutral alcohol character with just a touch of cereal presence. Warming, but not hot or raw. The texture is a little slippery/oily but not rich. Finish: Short. Some grain and yeasty white bread flavours with an herbal touch. Subtle almost to the point of blandness, this is like white-dog diluted with neutral spirit. There are light herbal notes but it is easily the mildest genever I’ve tasted. It’s not actively bad but my preference is towards more assertively flavoured liquor so to me this seems weak and uninteresting. I much preferred the Bols Jonge Jenever I tasted a while ago. Having bought this I’m not sure how I’ll make use of a whole bottle. It doesn’t have the character I seek for neat drinking but it may work in cocktails and could make an interesting martini. It might also pair well with flavoured tonic waters, but I’ll need to experiment. I wouldn’t bother with this one. It’s not an “inferior” spirit per se, just rather plain and dull, but I wouldn’t go so far as to dignify it with the term “average” either. The official Distiller tasting notes are on target. “Adequate” : 74/100 (2.25 stars) UPDATE: Over ice, with a slice of lime and some good tonic this is OK, but I'd still rather have almost any gin. The rating stays the same, so far. UPDATE 2: I've been slowly working through this over the last week by trying it in a number of combinations. The three most pleasant ways I've found to take it so far are chilled as a shot straight from the freezer, as a gin replacement in a martini, and mixed 50/50 with a super-hefty gin like Never Never Juniper Freak. It would probably work in any context as a vodka replacement, but on the whole it's just not a very interesting drink.