Bols Genever Launch Party in Boston

Today we had the honor to head over to DRINK in Boston Massachusettes for the Bols Genever launch party. Bols Genever is a spirit that’s very old to the United States, once known as “Dutch Gin” on record, it is a recipe that dates back to 1820. The recipe’s primary ingredient is that of a malt wine and, in many ways, is as close to the English gin recipe as it is to an absinthe… not close at all.

If Bols Genever was imported as a Dutch Gin during the 1800’s, why introduce something to the United States that has been here since 1820? Genever faded away as the spirit of choice by the end of the 1800’s and we all but lost record of its existence here in the United States. Lucas Bols plans to change all that by recovering the original recipe and reinvigorating the public with the taste of Genever once again.

The launch party started with friendly introductions from the Lucas Bols team and we watched a great presentation showing off the rich history of the Genever spirit. We were able to taste such cocktails as The Collins and The Holland House while also having a chance to try some newer cocktails made by the folks at the DRINK. The history behind Bols Genever is reflected in the bottle design as much as it is in the taste. In order to truly appreciate and understand the efforts of Lucas Bols in bringing the recipe back to the spirit community we had to understand its heritage.

The purpose of this launch was to show bartenders, cocktail makers and the press that Bols Genever is coming back into the industry to once again become an international spirit for cocktail making. Recent research suggests that the original “Dutch Gin” was indeed a Genever recipe and the cocktail recipe book The Bartender’s Guide or How To Mix Drinks from 1862 fully utilized this once un-named and unbranded product in many of the most classic recipes.

If you’ve heard of the Sling, Sour or Collins cocktails you’ve had a glimpse into what history suggested in the original cocktail but you may have never had it as it once was created. Genever is required to make the cocktail taste as it did one hundred years ago and many cocktail makers love to re-test the classic styles. Thanks to years of research and renewed interest in the history of such texts we now have the ability to try them in their true form!

My take away from the event was important for my further growth as a cocktail enthusiast: learning new recipes and understanding the tastes of Genever. Of course, Lucas Bols will benefit from my attendance as well because now I must bring this spirit and many of its newly created recipes to light and show them to my audience as well.

Here are a few recipes you can work with today, before I get them online and recorded for Common Man Cocktails.

The Translucent Cocktail
1 ¼ oz. Bols Genever
¼ oz. White Créme de Cacao Liqueur
¾ oz. Kirsch

Stir all the ingredients with ice and strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a genever-soaked cherry, speared.

The Improved Holland Gin Cocktail
2 oz. Bols Genever
1 ½ oz. Rich Sugar Syrup (2 parts sugar: 1 part water)
2 bar spoons Maraschino Liqueur
½ bar spoon Absinthe
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Stir all the ingredients with ice and strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon zest sprayed, rimmed and dropped into the glass.