Full Review

Hooghoudt

Hooghoudt
Sweet Spiced Genever

Category: Genever

Date Tasted:
Country: Netherlands
Alcohol: 30%
89 Points
Silver Medal
Highly Recommended
$19
Best Buy

Hooghoudt
Sweet Spiced Genever

Category: Genever

Date Tasted:
Country: Netherlands
Alcohol: 30%
Golden yellow color. Aromas of ginger and butterscotch, vanilla, strawberry marzipan frosting, honey nut cheerios, and orange blossom honey and yogurt with a velvety, bright, dryish light-to-medium body and a smooth, complex, medium-length cinnamon and brown sugar, honey glazed doughnut, brioche, and lavender and orange blossom finish. Sweet, spicy, herbaceous and just a fun sipper.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Spicy & Complex
Aroma Aroma: ginger and butterscotch, vanilla, strawberry marzipan frosting, honey nut cheerios, and orange blossom honey and yogurt
Taste Flavor: cinnamon and brown sugar, honey glazed doughnut, brioche, and lavender and orange blossom
Smoothness Smoothness: Smooth
Finish Finish: Normal
Enjoy Enjoy: neat, on the rocks and shots
Bottom Line Bottom Line: Sweet, spicy, herbaceous and just a fun sipper.

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.

Top Rated for
Genever

Hooghoudt Raw Genever Holland Gin
94 POINTS
Hooghoudt Raw Genever Holland Gin
43% $40.00.
Netherlands
Bobby
87 POINTS
Bobby's Gin Company Schiedam Jenever
38% $39.00.
Netherlands

Best Buys for
Gin & Genever

Spirit of HVEN Organic Gin
96 POINTS
Spirit of HVEN Organic Gin
40% $20.00.
Sweden
Citadelle Gin
95 POINTS
Citadelle Gin
44% $25.00.
France
Aviation American Gin
94 POINTS
Aviation American Gin
42% $25.00.
USA
Beefeater London Dry Gin
93 POINTS
Beefeater London Dry Gin
47% $22.00.
England
Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin
93 POINTS
Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin
47% $24.00.
England
Bulldog London Dry Gin
92 POINTS
Bulldog London Dry Gin
40% $24.00.
England
Woody
92 POINTS
Woody's Fairly Reliable Totally Mixable Gin
40% $19.00.
USA
Hooghoudt 3 Year Bourbon Barrel Aged Genever
92 POINTS
Hooghoudt 3 Year Bourbon Barrel Aged Genever
40% $25.00.
Netherlands
Citadelle Jardin D
91 POINTS
Citadelle Jardin D'Été Gin
41.5% $24.00.
France