🥃 Genever

Gin drinkers meet genever as its older Dutch and Belgian relative. Genever (also jenever, genièvre) is an EU geographical indication for a juniper-flavoured spirit drink (category 19 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787). It is made by flavouring agricultural ethyl alcohol and/or grain distillate with juniper berries. The mandatory feature is at least 1.5% grain distillate, traditionally called malt wine (moutwijn).

Malt wine is made only from wheat, rye, barley, maize, oats, buckwheat and triticale: the grain is milled, mashed, fermented and distilled in a pot still or a multi-stage apparatus to 40-80% ABV. The more malt wine, the more pronounced the grainy, "oily" character of the drink. The juniper is common (Juniperus communis) or prickly (J. oxycedrus); other plants must not dominate it.

Finished genever has at least 30% ABV (60 proof) and less than 20 g/l of sugar; colour is adjusted only with plain caramel (E150a). The drink may be aged in wood, so its colour ranges from colourless to light amber. The area is Belgium, the Netherlands, the French departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, and the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony; it may be diluted and bottled outside it.

According to the specification, at the end of the 16th century grain spirit with juniper became a popular drink in what is now Belgium and the Netherlands. In the First World War the copper of stills was turned into munitions, and many distilleries closed. The EU register also has narrower names: "oude jenever", "jonge jenever", grain and fruit genever.

Why it matters to you. Genever is not gin: its character is set by the grain distillate, not just juniper, and its strength can be lower, from 30% ABV. WHO: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.