Van Kleef Jenever Tasting and Museum The Hague

If you want to experience what a Dutch liquor store looked like in the nineteenth century, it worth going to The Hague and visit Van Kleef Distillery that doubles as a museum and jenever tasting room. Jenever is the Dutch equivalent of gin, but taste slightly differently. The Hague is 60 km south of Amsterdam and can easily be reached by train in 50 minutes. Van Kleef is only a short walk from the train station. Take the A4 if you want to get to The Hague by car.

Van Kleef Museum

Van Kleef is a jenever distillery, tasting room and museum. The home-distilled jevener is sold in traditional stone jugs and square bottles. The distillery dates back to the year 1842 when Theodorus van Kleef started a steam distillery for the production of jenevers, bitter extracts and liqueurs. The drinks were for sale in the adjacent liquor store. The current museum garden was in those days the distillery room. The alcohol was stored in eight cellars and contained many liters of this inflammable liquid.

Jenever Distilleries

When Van Kleef started distilling jenever in the nineteenth century, they were one of the many distilleries in The Hague. Over time, many of these historic businesses burned down, because a large stock of alcohol is a fire hazard. Van Kleef survived and is the perfect place in The Hague to taste jenever and go back in time.

Back in Time

The doorbell tinkles softly when you enter van Kleef liquor store cum distillery. It is a step back in time and you imagine yourself in a 19th century shop.

On your left is a counter with liquor bottles and knickknacks of yesteryear. An old fashioned cash register takes pride of place. It is like an old-fashioned typewriter, but instead of letters there are numbers on the keys. When pressed a little flap pops up and displays the amount to be paid.

The Drinks Organ

On your left is the ‘drinks organ’. It is a collection of wooden casks lying on their sides. Each cask has a small tap. In the old days, people used to come with a jug or other container to tap jenever. Jenever is like gin, it is distilled grain alcohol flavoured with juniper berries.

This drinks organ dates from 1820 and the casks are made of 700-year-old oak wood, and it is still in use today. The only difference is that these days bottles are filled from it.

Distillery Equipment

At the back of the shop there is an exhibition of authentic distillery equipment, old labels, ancient photos, old bottles. Jenever is often sold in square bottles. This has a reason. Sailors used to take jenever with them to while away the time. Round bottles were not very practical as they would roll over in heavy storms. Square bottles would remain in place.

The First Telephone Directory

On display is the first edition of the local telephone directory. At the end of 19th century the telephone was the new gadget. Getting a line was very expensive and only the very rich could afford it. They could brag about having ‘the instrument’, but they could not actually call many friends because very few people were connected.

The first telephone number that appears in this telephone book, the most important number, the easiest to remember and therefore certainly the most used, it was not the number of the police or the mayor, but it was Van Kleef. To call your favourite distillery, all you had to do was dial 1, it was that simple.

Van Kleef Jenever Tasting

Tasting session can be booked for Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

1. Van Kleef Jenever Tasting and Guided Tour
Duration: 1 hour 30 min
Description: The tour starts with a brief history of Van Kleef distillery and continues with the tasting of various liqueurs and jenevers accompanied by finger food.

2. Van Kleef Cocktail Tasting Session
Duration: 1 hour 45 min
Description: A brief introduction to the Van Kleef distillery, followed by a glass of Van Kleef Vaccin, a medicinal cocktail of limoncello and ginger liqueur and five cocktails served with finger food.

Address: Van Kleef Distilleerderij en Museum, Lange Beestenmarkt 109, The Hague
Opening hours: Monday closed, Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 to 18:00, Sunday 13:00 to 18:00

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