Nose: Malty, like the aroma of ale, with added botanical and spice notes including citrus, clove and juniper but the intensity is much lower and more rounded than in London dry gin and the overall impression is earthy rather than floral. There is also a big oily cereal distillate aroma.
Palate: Earthy and cereal on the arrival, like black rye bread with pine-forest overtones, nutmeg, walnuts and faint juniper. The texture is waxy, oily and a little thick. Some hay-like and malty flavours become apparent over time and a little mild pepper and licorice shows up towards the end.
Finish: Medium. Malty, cereal and lightly spicy with some warm bitterness in the tail. Almost a hopped beer aftertaste.
A typical jonge genever that shows all the aspects that exemplify this style of spirit. The nose and palate are distinctive and on first acquaintance it may seem like an unusual pairing of characteristics.
If you’ve ever tasted barrel-aged gin then imagine that profile amplified so that the cask influence almost covers the botanicals. It’s also very similar to white-dog or new-make scotch whisky with the addition of a slightly hopped kind of spice and just a trace of the fragrances typical in gin. The closest dry-style gin to this that I’ve tasted is the St George Dry Rye (which I'm sure was inspired by genever).
Jonge genever does not have the rich malt-spirit character of oude genever, but that does not mean it is only for mixing. I enjoy this neat at room temperature, but many prefer it kept in the freezer and taken as chilled as possible. The Dutch employ it as a “kopstoot” which translates as “head-butt” (I love that), which is beer with a genever chaser.
It responds well to dilution (with up to equal parts water) and is an excellent alternative to gin in cocktails, particularly the negroni and Collins, as it is similar but with less aromatics and a denser, creamier palate.
I’ve read several cautions about using it in a G&T but I couldn’t disagree more – it makes a great pairing with tonic, particularly if you add a couple of ice cubes and a generous slice of citrus.
“Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)
59.99
AUD
per
Bottle
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Thanks for the advice @cascode ! The genever selection here is quite poor as well. I'm glad that this one is a good place to start since it is actually one that I can find.
@ContemplativeFox Unfortunately we have very little choice here so I've only tasted a few genevers in the last few years. I first tried it in the 80s when I lived in the Netherlands for short time, but I couldn't tell you what that was - probably Bols. Of the ones I've tried recently I'd recommend Rutte and Zuidam. The only one I've really disliked was Bokma, which lacks character and is like blended genever and vodka. Start with a jonge genever - it's the closest to gin. If you like it try a lightly aged oude genever or corenwijn. This Bols is actually a pretty good place to start.
Really excellent notes @cascode . It sounds like this is a pretty solid genever, particularly as an entry level. Is there any other genever that you (or @Soba45 ) would recommend over this?
Nice review. I hosted a tasting years ago and a Dutchman bought a bottle of this along which given I didn't like gin at the time impressed me. The casking took the juniper edge off I guess.