Genever (Holland Gin)

[eje]

[...]

I'm really looking forward to trying some of Imbibe!'s recipes with this. Does anyone know when this will be available in NYC stores?

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Some of this is second hand, so don't know entirely how accurate it is.

It is my understanding Anchor made the Genevieve as an experiment about 10 years ago. It sat in their warehouse in stainless, without them really having an idea what to do with it.

I have my suspicions about what (or who) prompted them to finally dust it off, but they really didn't have very much of it (~700 bottles.) They also didn't expect there to be much demand at retail, and planned to just sell the batch off to restaurants and bars. I read a couple press things, where they said they thought it would be too confusing for customers if they had two gins on the market.

I believe it has proven rather more successful than they thought it would be, leaving them in the position of trying to figure out what they did and if they want to try to reproduce it again.

I, for one, certainly hope they do.

[slkinsey]

So, it was more of a limited-edition thing? Mostly for the California market?

That sucks... I thought they were really going to start making the stuff.

[phlip]

I've been calling my rep and threatening his life daily if he doesn't get me some of the junipero G soon. He swears it "in route". Today he said it was supposed to arrive by the end of this month but its looking more like early April, but it is on the way.

[eje]

If you're interested, I'd suggest emailing the info email address on their contact page.

I know from personal experience that the distiller, sales, and marketing people do read and respond to messages sent to that address. Heck, I've even gotten messages from Fritz Maytag himself.

It's not like we're talking about Pernod-Ricard or Diageo here...

[Scotttos]

RE: Genevieve

If you don't mind paying pretty high shipping costs. . . .. . https://www.vintagewines.biz/indivprod.cfm/sesurl/pid_10802

I ordered from here a few months back and it went off without a hitch. Looks like they are now limiting how many bottles for purchase per person (2).

It's good (strong) stuff. I asked Dave what he thought about it at one of his astor center talks and he described it as "a little hot." Wasn't sure if that was an endorsement or not : ) It does however make a damn fine Improved Gin Cocktail, something unlike I've ever tasted.

Edited March 26, 2008 by Scotttos (log)

[Bricktop]

Wow. If I had known Genevieve was so hard to find, I would have bought more of it.

I hope I don't have to ration it now.

[bostonapothecary]

Wow.  If I had known Genevieve was so hard to find, I would have bought more of it.

I hope I don't have to ration it now.

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i'm really into this anchor steam genevieve stuff... i drank some of it straight last night... (most sippable "gin" ever...) the nose was beautiful with interesting warmth... malty and reminded me of tea leaves in a way... the taste is beautiful, mellow, and delicate. the juniper is rather delicate and more or less melts into the other flavors rather than contrasting them.

i need to figure out how to get me a supply of it...

eastern standard's "fifty-fifty" with equal genevieve, M&R sweet + a dash of angostura orange(?)... is well worth a trip across the city... the simplicity of this thing makes so many other drinks look over engeneered... i also don't think the increased botanical extract level of my own vermouth would make it look as good... this was light on its feet with eerie exoticism...

so this stuff supposedly uses the same botanical formula as junipero but does it have the same level of extracts at the beginning? same forground different background? whats going on here?

[eje]

I was chatting with the manager of a local liquor store that carries the Genevieve and he said he's seen pretty strong demand for it. It's a small boutique type liquor store, and he's sold around 48 bottles since it came out in November.

He also told me that they released a second batch of it packaged in a new darker bottle. I hadn't been aware of that. He was under the impression that the second batch had been a new distillation, but didn't know for sure. He said he hadn't heard anything about them discontinuing the product.

Inquiries to Anchor Distilling garnered a response, but nothing particularly informative.

To my question, "Do you plan to pursue continued production and expanded distribution or was this a one off?"

They replied, "Quite frankly we aren't sure what the future holds for Genevieve."

[campus five]

So here's what I found today:

It's like the rare gin gods had it in for me today. And both were pretty cheap.

[gfron1]

I have a friend who wants a bottle of Bokma - which I would love to gift to her. I can't seem to find it in any US liquor stores. Has anyone found it in the US?

[Scotttos]

I spotted Genevieve at Astor Wines yesterday, so it's there if anybody in NY has been wanting to try it out.

It's sporting a new darker bottle as well.

[slkinsey]

Sweet.

I happened to run into the new American rep for Bols last week, and apparently they would like to bring Bols Genever back to the US.

[plattetude]

Psst. I just picked up a bottle of Genevieve at Crossroads (14th St. at 6th Ave) in NYC.

[Yay.]

Christopher

[slkinsey]

I picked up a bottle myself on Wednesday. Haven't had a chance to play with it much yet. I wonder if this means they're going to put it into regular production?

[TVC]

I picked up a bottle myself on Wednesday.  Haven't had a chance to play with it much yet.  I wonder if this means they're going to put it into regular production?

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I was told that Anchor are still unsure of what the long term plans are for the Genevieve but LeNell's and Astor seem to be the only places that have it in stock. Alex at Death & Co. made some fantastic drinks with it. One was in a julep cup and seemed to be a variant of a South Side.

[plattetude]

I was told that Anchor are still unsure of what the long term plans are for the Genevieve but LeNell's and Astor seem to be the only places that have it in stock.

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Uh, as I said above, it's also currently available at Crossroads.

Christopher

[TVC]

I was told that Anchor are still unsure of what the long term plans are for the Genevieve but LeNell's and Astor seem to be the only places that have it in stock.

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Uh, as I said above, it's also currently available at Crossroads.

Christopher

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Sorry, missed that. It's obviously become, at least for the time being, available in NYC in the past month.

[Mike S.]

For those in Northern California / Bay Area, Beltramo's in Menlo Park typically has Genevieve in stock. 3 bottles as of yesterday afternoon.

[Bunnyhugs]

I did a post on Genever on my site a few days ago. I compared four different brands available in New Zealand (two from Bokma, one from Bols, and one from De Kuyper). I wanted to include the Genevieve, but had no luck accessing a bottle. It looks like New Zealanders are going to miss out on that particular product, despite Anchor's other gear being available here.

I am working on a follow up post or two on Genever cocktails. I will get that up in due course. In the meantime, try Genever in a hot gin and milk. I realize it is out of season for most of you, but down here things are turning wintry. Oude style genever is so definitely the gin you want to use in a gin and milk. Malty and smooth, with the botanicals almost resembling an eccentric take on chai. Very nice indeed.

Anyway, link below.

http://bunnyhugs.org/2008/05/11/genever-ge...rison/#more-777

[Mayur]

That's a wonderful website, BTW! I've visited it many times; awesome stuff.

So, I tried the Genevieve in a riff on the Improved Holland Gin Cock-Tail:

2 oz Genevieve

1 tsp simple

1/2 tsp maraschino

1/2 tsp nocino

2 dashes grapefruit bitters

I have no idea why I made this, except that I just got back from visiting a friend in the hospital and just went on autopilot making a drink. I thought nutty-malty the first time I tried the Genevieve, so went with the nocino for some more nut bitterness. (Skipped the absinthe because I thought it'd add too much in the herbal/bitter departments.)

[plattetude]

Last week, I stirred together a couple of Bijous using Genevieve for the gin and Carpano Antica for the vermouth -- interesting variation, considering how much is going on already between the vermouth and green Chartreuse already (not to mention the orange bitters). The maltiness of the gin makes it a very different drink indeed.

Christopher

[scratchline]

Finally broke into the genever the other night and I am an instant convert. No serious cocktailian can afford to be without a representative of this style. The nose is instantly captivating. Rich and fruity. Not at all like a London Gin. Jenny pointed out that it has much more in common with a fine reposado tequila. First up: An Amsterdam Cocktail ala cocktaildb.com:

1 1/2 oz genever

3/4 oz orange juice

1/2 oz Cointreau

1 dash orange bitters (Bitter Truth)

Shake, Strain. Garnish with orange twist.

Second: Improved Holland Cocktail ala Dave Wondrich

2 oz genever

1 t simple syrup

1 t maraschino (Luxardo)

2 dashes Peychaud bitters.

Stir on ice in glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Each of these were absolutely outstanding summer cocktails. Light and subtle and refreshing and absolutely sui generis thanks to the base spirit. Can't vouch for the jonge version but the oude is essential, and I will definitely return from Europe with more of this and with the korenwijn as well.

Cheers.

[Bunnyhugs]

Amsterdam Cocktail ala cocktaildb.com:

1 1/2 oz genever

3/4 oz orange juice

1/2 oz Cointreau

1 dash orange bitters (Bitter Truth)

Shake, Strain.  Garnish with orange twist

The Amsterdam is a good one. One of the better genever cocktails from CocktailDB.

[Chris Amirault]

Got my hands on both Oulde and Jonge Boomsma the other day, and I made the Improved Holland Gin Cock-Tail as described above: fantastic. It's a drink that will showcase lots of bitters, too.

If Boomsma is just good, I'm eager to see what the rest of the world of genever will bring.

[Chris Amirault]

The Fitty-Fitty made with Jonge is pretty interesting. It's not mind-blowing, but that maltiness rises with the vermouth and does fun things with the orange bitters. (I use a 50/50 Fee's/Regan's bitters mix for this.)