Hooghoudt launches two ultra premium aged Jenevers
Hooghoudt pays tribute to the 23 generations with the Aged 5 and shows how tasty a human error can be with the Aged 16.
Family Distillery Hooghoudt launches two ultra premium aged Jenevers in March. Both were fired in 1998 by the third and fourth generation Hooghoudt and placed as single malt in old ex-Oloroso casks. Now, 23 years later, they have been enriched with distilled botanicals and are marketed as Single Barrel Jenever. Martijn Keesmaat, Commercial Director at Hooghoudt: “The Aged 23 is the first edition in a series of 5 exceptional ex-Oloroso barrels with which we will each pay tribute to a generation over the next 5 years. Hooghoudt to take. The Aged 16 is one of 7 barrels that was accidentally refilled with new malt wine after 7 years, resetting the counter to zero. The result of this action is as original as it is tasty: The depth of a liquid aged 23 years and at the same time the character of a spirit aged 16 years.”
Hooghoudt has been passionately searching for the best scents, colors and flavors from nature for more than 133 years and 5 generations. They do not allow themselves to be held back by conventions, but rather push the boundaries so that they can create new, relevant taste experiences within traditional categories without putting off existing enthusiasts. Keesmaat: “With the Aged 16 and 23, we focus on the lover of aged drinks and in particular the Single Malt Whiskey enthusiast, but we do this from the power of jenever, where our history and passion lie.
Where most aged spirits are finished when they come out of the barrel, Jenever continues. We master the art of distilling and blending botanicals. We look at the flavor profile of the malt wine from each individual barrel and enhance it with our own blend of distilled botanicals. This opens Hooghoudt a completely new taste world for the Whiskey connoisseur, Jenever drinker, and new discoverers. You could call our Aged 23 the crown jewel of Jenever in the 21st century and the Aged 16 our charismatic prince with a slightly rebellious character. Beautiful liquids, each with its own story and character.”
Aged 23: An ode to the first generation Hooghoudt
This Jenever is part of a series of five. Each barrel represents one generation Hooghoudt. The series will ultimately consist of 23% malt wine Genevers aged 27 to 100 years from exceptional ex-Oloroso barrels that are bottled at cask strength. In 1998 by Hero Jan, third generation Hooghoudt, fired and put in barrel after which the then copper boiler was allowed to retire. Bottled now 23 years later by Bert, fourth generation, as he and his children put the finishing touches to a new distillery as part of the Graanrepubliek in Bad Nieuweschans. The circle is round.
The first cask, number 577, contained a rich full-bodied liquid with signature Oloroso flavors such as raisin, dates, chestnut honey and a hint of toasted almonds. Only 225 bottles have come out of the barrel and the liquid has completely taken over the flavors of the wood. The distilled botanicals then reinforce this: In addition to juniper berries, gentian, laurel and, for example, iris root form a botanical boost that brings out the wood tones in the liquid even more. But there is also a nod to the family's history Hooghoudt: After Hero Jan and Gretel in 1888 Hooghoudt founded in Groningen, they won many prizes with their orange liqueurs. Distillate from orange peel adds fruitiness, but also completes the history circle here.
Aged 16: A Jenever aged 23 years with the character of a spirit aged 16 years
Aged 16 is according Hooghoudt “the direct result of a fluke that you encounter only once”. The aforementioned last batch of malt wine, which was distilled in 1998, was put in 34 of the best oak ex-Oloroso barrels. Some of them had served as sherry casks for almost a hundred years. History shows that after seven years a new employee filled the barrels with new malt wine with all good intentions. He discovered his mistake with the seventh cask, which later turned out to have been the birth of this unique, beautiful Jenever. This created a liquid in which taste tones of the 23-year-old and 16-year-younger spirits miraculously reinforce each other. The first cask that is now being bottled, cask number 598, contained a liquid rich in notes of caramel, vanilla, ripe fruit, but also a striking amount of fresh spicy notes including sandalwood and timut pepper. This character is then enhanced with distilled botanicals including hops, liquorice, iris root and juniper. 430 bottles have come out of the barrel and will be released on the market. A fiery full liquid with a special story in which taste worlds reinforce each other in a unique way.
