US Marketing Campaign Launched for Genever, 'America's Lost European Spirit'

NEW YORK, July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A three-year U.S. marketing campaign titled "Genever: America's Lost European Spirit" has been launched to provide education about genever (pronounced: juh-NEE-vuhr), the largest spirit category in the Netherlands and Belgium. The campaign is organized by the genever association SpiritsNL, funded by five genever brands (Bobby's-Notaris, Bols, deBorgen, Rutte, and Smeets), and co-financed by the European Union. In the U.S. campaign's first year, education will be led by seven regional Category Ambassadors; large-scale events will take place at Tales of the Cocktail, BevCon®, and Portland Cocktail Week; media relations will run year-long; and a category website, www.theworldofgenever.com, is under development.

The ancestor of modern-day gin, genever is a unique spirit with a rich history. By law, genevers are all-natural combinations of a grain-based spirit – also known as malt spirit; any grain is admissible – and juniper berries (though genevers typically also include angelica, coriander, and other botanicals). In addition, genevers must be made in the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments of France, or the North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony regions of Germany. Genever offers a range of flavor rarely found in other distilled spirits because of the variance in the balance of malt spirit, juniper, and botanicals, as well as differences in distilling, blending, and aging. The result can be zesty, fresh, and botanical-driven, or at the other end of the spectrum can be malty, rich, and earthy from years spent aging in wooden casks. In effect, genever bridges the gap between gin and whiskey.

Originally used in Medieval times for its supposed medicinal benefits, by the 17th century, genever was one of Europe's largest exports; American cocktail recipe books from the 1880s show that about one-quarter of U.S. cocktails were based on the spirit. However, genever all but disappeared from the world stage following the two World Wars and Prohibition. Today, supported by the popularity of classic cocktails, genever is seeing the beginning of a U.S. renaissance: as one example, the winning recipe in the 2017 Tales of the Cocktail "Official Cocktail Competition" – chosen from among hundreds of entries – was genever-based.

Genever is most typically enjoyed neat (traditionally in a tulip-shaped glass filled to the brim); paired with beer or food; or in cocktails. Bartenders often use it to recreate classic, genever-based cocktails that predate Prohibition (like the John Collins, the predecessor of the gin-based Tom Collins), or to push the boundaries of their creativity.

CAMPAIGN FINANCED WITH AID FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION

Campaign Contact: Siu Ki Wan, Siu Ki Wan Production, Inc., [email protected], m.917-371-2004

Media Contact: Christine Deussen, Deussen Global Communications, Inc., [email protected], m.917-545-1459

Please enjoy responsibly.

Media samples, hi-res imagery, interviews, and more information available upon request.

Related Images

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Genever: America's Lost European Spirit
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Shard Glass

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Enjoy It's from Europe
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SOURCE SpiritsNL