Editing Jenever

{{Short description|French, Dutch and Belgian juniper-flavoured liquor}}
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[[File:Hollandse Graanjenever 0495.JPG|thumb|upright|''Hollandse Graanjenever'']]
[[File:Jielbeaumadier genievre loos wambrechies 2010.jpg|thumb|upright|French ''genièvre'']]

'''Jenever''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|dʒ|ə|ˈ|n|iː|v|ər}},<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dietsch |first=Michael |date=2018-08-09 |title=The Serious Eats Guide to Genever |url=https://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/06/serious-eats-guide-to-genever-what-is-jenever-history-production-bols.html |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=[[Serious Eats]]}}</ref> {{IPA|nl|jəˈneːvər|lang|Nl-jenever.ogg}}), also known as '''Hollands''', '''genever''', '''genièvre''', '''peket''', or sometimes as '''Dutch gin''' (archaic: '''Holland gin'''<ref>{{cite web | last=McDonald-Gibson | first=Charlotte | title=Genever invention: The rich and malty ancient spirit is making a | website=The Independent | date=6 February 2014 | url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/genever-invention-the-rich-and-malty-ancient-spirit-is-making-a-comeback-9113137.html | access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref> or '''Geneva gin'''), is the [[juniper]]-flavoured traditional [[liquor]] in the Netherlands, Belgium, and adjoining areas in northern France and northwestern Germany. As an EU and UK [[Protected Designation of Origin]], the term ''jenever'' and its soundalikes can only be used if the product is made according to the specifications in Belgium, the Netherlands, two northern French departments, and two German federal states. [[Gin]] was developed in Britain after the introduction of jenever to the island.<ref name="bart">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thinkingbartender.com/jenever.htm|title=Jenever|last=Sinclair|first=George. thinkingbartender.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715173113/http://www.thinkingbartender.com/jenever.htm|archivedate=2007-07-15}}</ref>

==History==
Jenever was originally produced by [[distilling]] [[malt]] wine (''moutwijn'' in Dutch) to 50% [[alcohol by volume]]. Because the resulting spirit was not palatable due to the lack of refined distilling techniques (with only the [[pot still]] available), herbs were added to mask the flavour. The [[juniper berry]] (which comes from the Latin ''[[juniper]]us''), hence the name ''jenever'' (and the English name [[gin]]), was used for its alleged medicinal benefits.

At least in some regions, such as around Ommen in Overijssel, Netherlands,<ref>Donkers, H. W. H. A. "[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/141526575.pdf Een slimme boer bedenkt iets nieuws"]. (1997).</ref> jenever is distilled from [[spelt]], an old variety of wheat.<ref name="Peragine 2010">{{cite book |last=Peragine |first=John N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D622JFIFJxcC&pg=PA128 |title=The Complete Guide to Growing Your Own Hops, Malts, and Brewing Herbs |page=128 |publisher=Atlantic Publishing Company |date=30 November 2010 |access-date=1 September 2012 |isbn=978-1601383532}}</ref> 

The first written references to genever (or jenever) are found in scientific papers written by several Flemish authors. [[Jacob van Maerlant]] ([[Bruges]], 1235 – 1300) described how to add parts of the juniper tree to a spirit made of distilling wine in his book ''Der Naturen Bloeme'', published in 1266. It was the first writing of distilling in Dutch and had to do with the juniper tree. Later on, in 1522, the Antwerp-based doctor Phillipus Hermanni wrote the first recipe for genever. He described how to mix crushed juniper berries with wine and distill it afterwards. The very first versions of genever were being made for medical purposes and came from distilled wine. Later on, when cold periods drove out the vineyards in Flanders, it was replaced by distilling beer, calling it malt wine.

There is tradition that attributes the invention of jenever to the Dutch chemist and [[alchemist]] [[Franciscus Sylvius|Franciscus Sylvius de Bouve]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bunnyhugs.org/2008/05/11/genever-geneva-or-jenever-history-and-product-comparison/|title=Bunnyhugs » Blog Archive » Genever, Geneva or Jenever? History and Product Comparison|publisher=bunnyhugs.org|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120707002953/http://bunnyhugs.org/2008/05/11/genever-geneva-or-jenever-history-and-product-comparison/|archivedate=2012-07-07}}</ref> (1614–1672). However, the evidence suggests that jenever was already known and used as a medicine in the 1500s.<ref name="difford">{{cite web |last1=Difford |first1=Simon |title=History of gin (1100s - mid-1500s) |url=https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1108/gin/history-of-gin-1100s-mid-1500s |website=www.diffordsguide.com |access-date=30 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Already by 1606 (several years before Sylvius's birth), the Dutch had levied taxes on jenever and similar liquors as alcoholic drinks, suggesting that jenever had by then stopped being considered a medicinal remedy. Furthermore, prior to Sylvius's tenth birthday, jenever appeared in [[Philip Massinger]]'s 1623 play, ''[[The Duke of Milan]]'', which referred to the drink as "geneva". ''Geneva'' was the Anglicized name for jenever (even though the drink has no relation to the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] city of [[Geneva]]), a name that English soldiers had brought back with them when returning from battle in the [[Low Countries]], first in 1587 (well before Sylvius's birth) and again during the early 1600s.

Since the 1950s, Dutch [[flag carrier]] airline [[KLM]] has issued a series of [[List of KLM Delft Blue houses|Delft Blue houses]] modelled on buildings in the Netherlands filled with jenever, which are presented to passengers.

==Old and young==

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There are two types of jenever: ''oude'' (old) and ''jonge'' (young). This is not a matter of aging, but of distilling techniques. Around 1900, it became possible to distill a high-grade type of alcohol that was almost neutral in taste, independent of the origin of the spirit. A worldwide tendency for a lighter and less dominant taste, as well as lower prices, led to the development of [[blended whisky]] in Scotland and in the Netherlands to ''Jonge Jenever''. During [[World War&nbsp;I]], the lack of imported cereals — and hence malt — forced the promotion of this blend. Alcohol derived from [[molasses]] from the [[sugar beet]] industry was used as an alternative to grain spirit. People started using the terms ''oude'' for the old-style jenever and ''jonge'' for the new style, which contains more grain instead of malt and can even contain plain sugar-based alcohol.

In modern times, jenever distilled from grain and malt only is labelled ''Graanjenever''. ''Jonge jenever'' can contain no more than 15% malt wine and 10 grams of sugar per litre. ''Oude jenever'' must contain at least 15% malt wine but no more than 20 g of sugar per litre. ''Korenwijn'' (grain wine) is a drink very similar to the 18th-century-style jenever and is often matured for a few years in an oak cask; it contains from 51% to 70% malt wine and up to 20 g/L of sugar. Although the name ''oude jenever'' does not necessarily mean that the jenever is in fact old, there are some distilleries that age their jenever in oak barrels.

About 90% of all ''Jonge Jenever'' sold on the market is a blend of malt wine produced by Filliers in Belgium, sugar beet or grain based ethyl alcohol from factories in Germany, France, and (mostly) Russia, and water.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} Most of the bigger brands contain no malt wine, so they resemble, in essence, vodka. Distilleries in Belgium and the Netherlands actually distill jenever, which mostly produces limited volumes of specialty drinks.

==Taste==
''Jonge jenever'' has a neutral taste, like [[vodka]], with a slight aroma of juniper and malt wine. ''Oude jenever'' has a smoother, very aromatic taste with malty flavours. ''Oude jenever'' is sometimes aged in wood; its malty, woody, and smoky flavours resemble [[whisky]]. Different grains used in the production process — such as barley, wheat, [[spelt]], and rye — produce different flavoured jenevers. The taste is sometimes enhanced by adopting barrels previously used for American whiskey.

==Jenever cities==
[[File:Hasseltse jenever.jpg|thumb|Bottles of jenever for sale in [[Hasselt]], including two in traditional clay bottles]]

[[Hasselt]], [[Deinze]], [[Aalst, Belgium|Aalst]], and [[Liège]] in Belgium,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.Belgiangenever.com|title=Belgian Genever}}</ref> and [[Schiedam]], [[Groningen]], [[Amsterdam]], and [[Delft]] in the Netherlands, are well known for their jenevers and often referred to as "jenever cities" (''jeneversteden'').  In Amsterdam, jenever is made by ''The Stillery'', ''Van Wees, ''and ''Wynand Fockink''. Well-known Schiedam jenever distilleries include ''Nolet'', ''Onder De Boompjes'', ''Herman Jansen,'' and ''De Kuyper''. (Jenever can appear under the English-language name "schiedam".) Near the Dutch-Belgian border, in [[Baarle-Nassau]], ''Zuidam'' produces traditional jenevers and Dutch liquors. Other jenever cities in the Netherlands are [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]] (''Hooghoudt'') and [[Dordrecht]] (''Rutte Distillery''<ref>
{{Cite web|url=http://www.rutte.com|title=Agecheck {{!}} Rutte Distillers|website=www.rutte.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-11}}
</ref>). In Belgium, [[Deinze]] is very well known for the ''Filliers'' distillery, and [[Aalst, Belgium|Aalst]] is well known for ''Stokerij De Moor'' and ''Stokerij Van Der Schueren'', both still active today. [[Hasselt]] styles itself as Belgium's jenever capital and has a museum dedicated to the drink. Also with the Biercée Distillery in Wallonia, one of only two Belgian distilleries to export their genever to the USA.

Dutch-based [[Lucas Bols]] produces and sells ''oude genever'', known as ''ginebra'' in Spanish, in [[South America]]. [[Ketel One]] is now more known for producing [[vodka]], but it started out as, and still is, a jenever distillery.

==Drinking traditions==
Traditionally, the drink is served in a tulip-shaped glass filled to the brim, with the surface tension enabling the jenever to rise higher than the glass's edge. ''Jonge jenever'', colloquially a ''jonkie'' ("young'un"), is usually served at room temperature, sometimes (though this is now quite old-fashioned) with some sugar and a tiny spoon to stir. The drink is sometimes served cold from a bottle kept in a freezer or on the rocks (''jonge met ijs''). The higher-quality ''oude jenever'' (and ''korenwijn'') is usually served at room temperature. When jenever is drunk alongside beer (normally lager) as a chaser, it is referred to as a ''kopstoot'' (headbutt), when the glass of jenever is dipped into the beer glass, it is called a ''[[U-Boot (beer cocktail)|duikboot]]'' (submarine) in Flanders and the South of Holland. Traditionally, jenever is served in full shot-glasses taken directly from the freezer. As the glass is very full, it is advisable to take the first sip without holding the glass, leaving it on the table, and bending one's back to apply one's mouth to the glass.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bespokeunit.com/spirits/jenever/#serve | title=What is Jenever & How to Drink It: Top 10 Best Dutch Gin }}</ref>

==Geographical indications==
Recognized for its historic and cultural contribution, and subject to production specifications, the European Union protected genever with 11 specific types of jenever as a [[geographical indication]]:

* Belgium, the Netherlands, small parts of France, and small parts of Germany: genever (''Genièvre / Jenever / Genever''), grain genever (''Genièvre de grains / Graanjenever / Graangenever'')
* Belgium, the Netherlands, small parts of Germany: Genièvre aux fruits / Vruchtenjenever / Jenever met vruchten / Fruchtgenever
* Belgium and the Netherlands: old genever (''oude jenever / oude genever''), young genever (''jonge jenever / jonge genever'')
* Belgium: O'de Flander real East-Flemish grain genever (''O'de Flander Echte Oost-Vlaamse graanjenever''), Hasselt genever (''Hasseltse jenever''), Balegem genever (''Balegemse jenever''), and the Walloon [[peket]] (''Peket-Pekêt / Pèket-Pèkèt de Wallonie'')
* [[Cuisine and specialties of Nord-Pas-de-Calais|Two provinces of France:]] Flanders Artois genever (''genièvre Flandre Artois'')
* Two states of Germany: East-Frisia cereal grain genever (''Ostfriesischer Korngenever'')

The names Genièvre and Genièvre de Jura are also protected geographical indications of Switzerland (recognised in the EU).

Protection as a geographical indication of Jenever also applies in Armenia, China, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Moldova, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tmdn.org/giview/gi/EUGI00000014070|work=GI View, EU|title=Genièvre / Jenever / Genever|access-date=18 September 2021}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Dumont Frères & Cie]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Portal bar|Netherlands|Belgium|Liquor|Drink}}

[[Category:Belgian distilled drinks]]
[[Category:Belgian inventions]]
[[Category:Dutch distilled drinks]]
[[Category:Dutch inventions]]