Cocktails with Genever
Genever is the juniper-flavored grain spirit of the Netherlands and Belgium — the malty ancestor that gin grew out of. But where gin is juniper-forward and dry, genever’s signature is malty, bready grain, with juniper only a background note.
ABV35–46%On most bottlings, varying by style. The older, maltier styles reward a stirred, spirit-forward build.
How it's used
Genever is a base for stirred or built drinks rather than a hard shake, since its malty body bruises easily. Style matters: oude or korenwijn add weight and grain flavor, jonge behaves like a soft, less-dry gin. It’s the spirit the original Dutch-style Martinez and old "gin" cocktails were built on — many pre-1900 recipes calling for gin actually meant genever.
Substitutes for Genever
Another genever works one for one; the oude and korenwijn styles carry the most malt wine, so they give the fullest body. Without genever, Old Tom gin works one for one, and the drink comes out lighter and more botanical.
Neutral spirit redistilled with botanicals, juniper-led, with no malt wine. Used one for one, it makes the drink leaner and drier.
A lightly sweetened gin, such as Hayman's at about 30 g of sugar per liter. Most have no malt wine either, but the drink stays rounder than with London dry.
