Boomsma Oude Genever

Too heavy on the juniper for me

Nutty, light easy sipper. Razor thin.

I've been wanting to get my hands on some proper oude genever for a while now. Gin is my preferred cocktail and hot weather spirit, so as a whiskey fanatic...this sounded like the best of both worlds. And, indeed, Boomsma's oude genever is precisely what one would hope for here - a sweet, malty, barrel-inflected spirit that's been flavored with juniper and botanicals. The nose is light and fruity, with vanilla and porridge notes that remind in (in a good way) of some of my favorite Speyside single malts (AnCnoc's 12 year old comes to mind). There is a slightly bitter evergreen hint in the background. On the palate, this is not something I would want to mix up with tonic and a lime squeeze; again, like a scotch, it's not great for cocktails, but has both sufficient character and smoothness to be sipped neat as you enjoy the interplay between the sweet oaky vanilla notes and the bright and fresh (but still light) evergreen forest notes. I hope to see more oude genever make its way into the market; this is an enjoyable drink and worth seeking out to try, if just for diversity's sake.