Jenever (Dutch Juniper Spirit Service)

The first time I was old enough to be given jenever properly, nobody handed me the glass. They set it on the table, filled so full that the spirit rose in a little bright meniscus above the rim, and waited. This is how the lesson begins. You bend to the glass, hands politely out of trouble, and take the first sip from the table. A small bow to a strong drink. The Dutch can make ceremony out of thrift, weather, and a glass too full to lift.

The name already tells you where the old spirit is hiding. Jenever comes from jeneverbes, juniper berry, the dark little pine-scented fruit that gives the drink its spine. But let me tell you a secret: jenever is not gin wearing wooden shoes for tourists. It is older, grainier, rounder, built on moutwijn, malt wine, a pot-distilled grain spirit with the bread-and-cereal warmth that London gin later stripped away. History and cookery, they cannot be separated, and neither can drinking and listening when the bottle is good.

There is no cooking here, and certainly no home distilling. For obvious reasons. What you are preparing is service, which sounds minor until you do it wrong. Chill the bottle, choose jonge jenever if you want it clean and light, oude jenever if you want malt and softness, and pour into a small tulip glass until you nearly regret your confidence. Sip the first mouthful from the rim, then lift the glass. Hou het altijd simpel, but simple is not the same as careless.