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Posts Tagged ‘Bols Genever’

Review: Bols Genever

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 21, 2016

Bols Genever SAM_2415Lucas Bols advertises itself as the oldest distillation company active in the world today with origins that trace back to 1575. After 440 years, the company has grown to become one of the leading global concerns in the spirits industry. Bols has a presence in over 110 countries selling liqueurs, vodka, gin, and genever. The wide range of  liqueurs is particularly impressive. With 36 naturally flavoured liqueurs, the company can boast the widest range of liqueur flavours in the world.

According top the Bols Genever website, Lucas Bols began distilling Genever in 1664.  In fact, genever is the juniper-flavored spirit from which modern gin evolved. Traditional genever is still very popular in the Netherlands. I remember as a child when my parents would go back to Holland (where they emigrated from), and when they would return they would bring back a bottle of dutch genever which was not available in our hometown.

Bols Genever is based upon a recipe which Luca Bols introduced in 1820. The spirit is produced from malt wine distillate which is made from long-fermented rye, corn and wheat which is triple-distilled in copper pot stills. This malt wine, is then infused with a carefully selected distillate of botanicals and brought to 42% alcohol.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Bols Genever

“… Rather than being greeted with a clean piny juniper aroma in the glass, the scents and smells which reached up to me were much earthier, with warm, musty vegetal impressions drifting in the breezes. I do sense a firm juniper presence in the spirit, but it is disguised somewhat by the more dominant vegetal aspect of the spirit …”

Please enjoy my review, Chimo!

Posted in Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Cocktail Hour: 1878 Gin Crusta

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 20, 2016

Bols Genever is based upon a recipe which Lucas Bols introduced in 1820. The spirit is produced from malt wine distillate which is made from long-fermented rye, corn, and wheat which is triple-distilled in copper pot stills. This malt wine, is then infused with a carefully selected distillate of botanicals and brought to 42% alcohol by volume. The manner in which this spirit is produced pre-dates the advent of the Coffey still, and as such it represents a very early style of gin.

It occurred to me that Bols Genever may be the ideal spirit for me to explore early gin cocktails from the nineteenth century. To that end, I have reconstructed an early Gin Crusta recipe from that era which is found in the Bartending Manual written by Leo Engels, (American and Other Drinks) and published in 1878.

1878 Gin CrustaThe formulation provided by Engels is rather hard to follow because it bases its construction upon another early recipe,  the Fancy Cocktail, which in turn bases its construction upon a more generic serving which Engels simply calls the Gin Cocktail. Weaving my way through the tangle of recipes, I have brought forward Leo Engels’ Gin Crusta from 1878. (The cocktail was a favourite of my tasting group at a recent tasting I held where we were comparing both different styles of gin and different gin cocktails.)

1878 Gin Crusta

2 oz  Gin (Bols Genever made with recipe from 1820)
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/8 oz of Orange Curacao
1/8 oz Sugar Syrup
1 or 2 drops of Angostura Bitters
1 or 2 drops Fees Cocktail Bitters
1/3 cup cracked ice
Lemon Spiral (paring from half a lemon)
Lump of Ice

Rim a wine glass with a lemon slice
Dip the glass in powdered sugar
Pare 1/2 a lemon and place the paring inside the wine glass
Place the ingredients in a tumbler and strain into the wine glass
Add a small lump of ice

Enjoy Responsibly!

If  you are interested in more cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

Note: My review for Bols Genever will publish tomorrow.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »