Bobby's Schiedam Jenever

Cubeb pepper travelled from Java to Europe centuries ago and then largely disappeared from the trade, so finding it in a Schiedam jeneverGeneverThe Dutch and Belgian ancestor of gin, based on malt wine. "Jonge" is more neutral, "oude" more malty.GlossarySee Genever gins is a piece of history rather than a novelty. Bobby's builds this one on a family recipe belonging to Jacobus Alfons, setting Indonesian spice against a Dutch malt spirit base, with no sugar and no additives, at 38%.

Citrus · Spicy · Herbal

Malt is what makes a jenever a jenever, and the base here is soft and faintly bready, closer to a young grain spirit than to anything neutral. On top of it the spices do not behave like a European botanical list. Lemongrass leads and it leads hard, fresh and sharply citric with a green stalky edge that no lemon peel can imitate. Ginger comes next across the middle with a warming bite, cardamom cools the top with its camphorous lift, and cubeb pepperCubebIndonesian tailed pepper: hot and resinous, with a hint of pine and citrus that extends the juniper.Glossary closes the arrangement with a peppery heat that carries a pine-like note of its own, which lets it shake hands with the juniper instead of competing. The malt underneath keeps returning between the spices, and because nothing has been sweetened, the finish stays warm and dry rather than rounded off.

Genever asks to be served the way it always was: very cold, undiluted, in a small glass, which stays the plainest way to taste malt against lemongrass. Mixed, it asks for unflavoured tonic and either a lemongrass stalk or a lime wedge rather than a sweeter garnish. Avoid flavoured mixers entirely, since a recipe with this much spice needs no help. A spice route recorded in a bottle is a better story when the spices are still doing the work. Bringing a spice back into use is a different achievement from finding a new one. The 38% is traditional for the style rather than a shortcut. It ends fresh, spicy and dry.