Genever

Book excerpt: Distilled from grain nurtured in the soil of Belgium and the Netherlands, genever embodies the spirit, creativity, and resiliency of the culture that created it. Surviving five centuries of wars and prohibitions, genever was perfected and spread across the world. During its evolution, genever inspired the creation of gin and secured a place at America's early cocktail bars. This unique spirit category is as diverse, complicated and delightful to explore as the world of whiskey or cognac. Many people don?t realize that one of Manhattan?s original drinks was genever. Europeans were consuming genever where skyscrapers would later stand and nearly 340 years before the rise of the Empire State Building. Unfortunately the booze culture these Europeans first imported is now buried in oceans of time. Today genever is a fairly unknown and mostly misunderstood spirit even though its history is intricately integrated in the way Americans and the rest of the world drinks today. Whether you are a spirit and cocktail connoisseur or a burgeoning mixologist, Genever: 500 Years of History in a Bottle provides an enlightening review of genever's colorful past and offers tempting options for making it part of your future.