Genever is a criminally under-appreciated spirit, at least outside of the northern reaches of Europe from whence it hails. It’s gin’s great-grandpappy, enjoyed at least as far back as the early 16th century. Genever comes in both oude (old) and jonge (young) styles, which refer not to aging but rather to distilling technique.
Either style is delicious, and the best way we can think of to appreciate the flavor of a new bottle – aside from just sipping it neat – is to pair it with a good tonic water.
Typically, our preferred ratio for a spirit-and-soda drink is two parts spirit to four parts soda. We’d stick with that here, although if you have a particularly aggressive oude jenever, 1.5 parts might be better-balanced.
