Quarantine entertainment: online genever tasting with Hooghoudt
The term 1.5-metre society scares me. How are we going to toast in the future? What will my Sundays look like? And how will I enjoy my favourite tipple in the future, genever? I have an answer to that last question. Thanks to Hooghoudt’s online genever tasting.
Love of genever
I love genever. It’s the only spirit I always have at home. A walk through Amsterdam always includes a stop at Wynand Fockink distillery for the city’s tastiest genevers, and a Sunday at the pub with Ajax on the screen always starts with a kopstoot. All of this now seems so incredibly out of reach.
Genever by post
But then there was Hooghoudt distillery, which announced an online genever tasting. Via Zoom, so completely Mark Rutte approved. My boyfriend (a genever connoisseur) and I received two boxes from Hooghoudt by post. Well packaged, with four different small bottles of genever and a shopping list: we just had to get lemons, ginger ale and a few other ingredients ourselves. We received an email with the Zoom link, and the anticipation alone made me happy.
60 tasters
It immediately went wrong. By 7:55 p.m., we had all our genever and ingredients ready, but somehow my laptop opened Zoom in German and I couldn’t hear any sound. PANIC! I quickly grabbed my boyfriend’s laptop, and fortunately it worked there. Suddenly we were in a Zoom call with 60 strangers; luckily, everyone was on mute. We saw students, older couples, lonely men and a guy with his toddler. Well. That’s what happens when the schools are closed; you learn to combine things. Your child gets the baby bottle and you get the genever bottle.
Alcohol-free genever
“We’re starting with the zero zero 24, our alcohol-free genever,” Laurens Speek began. “Boring..”, my boyfriend sighed. But nothing could have been further from the truth. The alcohol-free genever tasted surprisingly good! We mixed the alcohol-free genever with ginger ale, lime and ice, and the result was reminiscent of a refreshing gin and tonic. A delicious summer drink and perfect for an alcohol-free get-together.
During the alcohol-free sample, Laurens told us about Hooghoudt and the history of genever. About how it was an aristocratic drink, and how William III, who married the Queen of England in 1678, wanted to take it with him to England, where it gradually changed into genever, or gin. All in all, a good start with interesting information, although we sometimes felt the talking went on a little too long.
Raw
We were therefore happy when we were allowed to drink again. Especially because what we drank was incredibly tasty too. The “raw genever” has a very thick, pleasantly syrupy texture. A clear genever flavour, easy on the palate, exactly as genever should taste! We drank it neat and also in a long drink with tonic. Both versions were very tasty, but as far as I’m concerned, the raw is a bull’s-eye served neat from a glass.
Tipsy
After the raw, it seemed as though Laurens realised he had to hurry up; the drinks started coming at an increasingly faster pace. Judging by the many chat messages, people were getting pleasantly tipsy, and we too were regularly sitting behind our screens in fits of giggles. It’s simply quite a bizarre situation, an online tasting like this.
Shisha
We personally liked the Aged genever and the Sweet spiced genever a little less. My boyfriend does quite like the Aged, as it’s very smoky and genuinely tastes like whiskey (I’m not a fan). Neither of us likes the Sweet spiced genever. At least, not neat; mixed with ginger ale and lime, it was okay. The Sweet spiced is intended to appeal to a younger audience, and the genever has a sweet note: caramel. Someone in the chat described it as a liquid crème brûlée. And when someone suggested that it tasted like shisha, the drink was officially ruined for me. I hate shisha, and indeed, after someone said that, I couldn’t take another sip without tasting a shisha lounge.
Recommended
This was genuinely great fun. It’s a good way to break out of your Netflix rut on a Thursday evening. Alone, with your partner or housemates, and with dozens of strangers from across the Netherlands. Every Thursday evening, Hooghoudt hosts a genever tasting, and for just €16.95, a package is sent to you, you have a fun evening and you support a local business from a distance. So do it! Sign up tonight for the tasting on Thursday 23 April via info@hooghoudt.nl
Also read:
- Mixing genever and gin like a pro? Here’s how!
- 5 quarantine-proof cocktails
- How to organise a beer tasting at home
