COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LOTS MORE FUN AND FREEBIES TO COME!
Definitely the coolest aspect of my recent visit to the Netherlands was getting to see firsthand how and where Rutte makes its gin and genever.
But before continuing too much further along my path to discover the history of gin and genever, perhaps I should talk about the differences between these two related spirits – and maybe even offer one lucky reader a taste of genever with a chance to win a bottle of one of the best, Rutte Old Simon.
Genever (aka Jenever, genièvre, peket, or Dutch gin) is essentially a juniper-flavoured malt wine. Indeed, the word genever itself is the Dutch word for “juniper.” It’s distilled primarily in the Netherlands and Belgium as it has been for centuries. Similar to genever, gin’s most prominent flavour is juniper. However unlike genever, gin is made with a neutral spirit.
Way back in the late 1500s and early 1600s, English soldiers developed a taste for genever – which coincidentally was how and when the term “Dutch courage” originated. To meet demand for the jazzed up juniper juice, the less complicated and more quickly produced gin was created.
Okay, I’m done with the history lesson. Essentially if you love gin, you’ll love genever. I find the latter tends to have a deeper, richer flavour than the former. When folks try genever for the first or when they taste on its own or in a cocktail without knowing what it is, they’re often pleasantly intrigued.
Rutte Old Simon Genever is a barley wine genever. It’s named after the producer’s founder, Simon Rutte and made to his 19th-century recipe. In addition to juniper, it has coriander, angelica root, walnut, hazelnut, mace and celery as its botanicals.
It’s delicious, and I’ve got one bottle set aside to share for free with one tikichris reader.
To be in with a chance to win a bottle of Rutte’s Old Simon Genever, make sure you’re following @ruttespirits and @tikichris on Twitter and tweet the following:
Please take a moment to read all the terms and conditions before tweeting!
T&C
I’ll pick one winner at random on Friday 1 September at 11.30am BST. The winner will receive one 70cl bottle of Rutte Old Simon Genever valued at £32.45. To be eligible to win, you need to have an address in the UK where the prize can be posted. Obviously you also need to be of legal drinking age to receive this alcoholic product and must be able to show ID that proves your age. Good luck.
For more about Rutte and its 130 years of distilling heritage go to rutte.com.
Keep an eye out for more posts in my Rutte Route series.
COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LOTS MORE FUN AND FREEBIES TO COME!
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#CafeWin. :JAMACA