Full Review

Hooghoudt

Hooghoudt
Raw Genever Holland Gin

Category: Genever

Date Tasted:
Country: Netherlands
Alcohol: 43%
93 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$39
2022 Best Genever

Hooghoudt
Raw Genever Holland Gin

Category: Genever

Date Tasted:
Country: Netherlands
Alcohol: 43%
Clear color. Aromas and flavors of lemon oil and orange blossom, black and pink peppercorn, toasted rolled oats, and citrus peel and juniper with a silky, bright, dryish medium body and a tingling, engaging, relaxed finish with notes of oatmeal with lemon meringue, orange blossom honey, and pepper. A hearty Genever with loads of toasted bread and herbal aromas that carry over to the palate.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Mild & Herbal
Aroma Aroma: lemon oil and orange blossom, black and pink peppercorn, toasted rolled oats, and citrus peel and juniper
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with notes of oatmeal with lemon meringue, orange blossom honey, and pepper
Smoothness Smoothness: Tingling
Enjoy Enjoy: in cocktails, neat and on the rocks
Cocktail Cocktails: Gin Martini, Gimlet, French 75
Bottom Line Bottom Line: A hearty Genever with loads of toasted bread and herbal aromas that carry over to the palate.

The Producer

Hooghoudt Distillery

The Producer

Their Portfolio

89 Hooghoudt Sweet Spiced Genever 30% (Netherlands) $19.00.
92 Hooghoudt 5 Year Barrel Aged Genever 40% (Netherlands) $45.00.
93 Hooghoudt Raw Genever Holland Gin 43% (Netherlands) $39.00.
89 Hooghoudt 3 Year Barrel Aged Peated Genever 40% (Netherlands) $27.00.
92 Hooghoudt 3 Year Bourbon Barrel Aged Genever 40% (Netherlands) $25.00.
97 Hooghoudt 23 Year Old Cask Strength Barrel-Aged Genever 59.8% (Netherlands) $229.00.
86 Hooghoudt Sweet Spiced Genever 30% (Netherlands) $20.00.
94 Hooghoudt Raw Genever Holland Gin 43% (Netherlands) $40.00.
93 Hooghoudt 6 Year Oloroso Cask Barrel-Aged Genever 40% (Netherlands) $40.00.

Genever

Spirits Glass Rock Clear.jpg
Serve in a Rocks Glass
Genever (Jenever in Belgium) is a white spirit that is flavored with juniper berries and so-called botanicals (a varied assortment of herbs and spices). Genever is made primarily from "malt wine" (a mixture of malted barley, wheat, corn, and rye), which produces a fuller-bodied spirit similar to raw malt whisky. A small number of genevers in Holland and Belgium are distilled directly from fermented juniper berries, producing a particularly intensely flavored spirit.

The chief flavoring agent in Genever is the highly aromatic blue-green berry of the juniper, a low-slung evergreen bush (genus Juniperus) that is commercially grown in northern Italy, Croatia, the United States and Canada. Additional botanicals can include anise, angelica root, cinnamon, orange peel, coriander, and cassia bark. Genever makers have their own secret combination of botanicals, the number of which can range from as few as four to as many as 15.

Genever or Hollands is the Dutch style of Gin. Genever is distilled from a malted grain mash (called malt wine) similar to that used for whisky. Oude ("old") Genever is the original style. Straw-hued, relatively sweet and aromatic, it must contain at least 15% malt wine and no more than 20 grams per liter of sugar. Jonge ("young") Genever has a drier palate and lighter body, it must consist of no more than 15% malt wine, and no more than 10 grams per liter of sugar. Some genevers, typically Oude Genever, are aged for one to three years in oak casks. Genevers tend to be lower proof than English gins (72-80 proof or 36-40% ABV is typical). They are usually served straight up and chilled. The classic accompaniment to a shot of Genever is a dried green herring. Genever is traditionally sold in a cylindrical stoneware crock. Genever-style gins are produced in Holland, Belgium, and Germany.