Genever

Genever is the spirit from which gin evolved. Distilled by the Dutch since the 16th century, it was probably introduced to England by soldiers returning from the war against Spain, in which they fought alongside the Dutch. There are three main types, according to the traditional Dutch classification: ‘jonge jenever’, a light, young style, without any notes of malt or grain and sometimes distilled from molasses or some other source of sugar; ‘oude jenever’, a more traditional style, produced from at least 15% malt alcohol; and ‘korenwijn’, the most traditional, produced from at least 51% malt alcohol and aged in oak barrels. The term ‘graanjever’ designates a genever that has been distilled from a 100% grain alcohol.