De Kuyper

No. 3 London Dry Gin is produced in the distillery in Schiedam near Rotterdam. It contains six botanicals, each sourced from different countries: Juniper from Italy, coriander from Bulgaria, cardamom from Guatemala, grapefruits from Uruguay, orange peel and angelica root from Poland. The base is a neutral grain alcohol, which is left to soak in the still for 16 hours together with the botanicals, so that the spices and other ingredients already release their aromas into the spirit. The next day, the seven-hour distillation begins. During this process, the master distiller collects only the heart of the distillate for bottling; the foreshots and feints are separated. Finally, the Gin is reduced to 46% drinking strength.

The second Gin produced at De Kuyper is Rutte, made according to old family recipes of the Dutch family of the same name. The core range includes Dutch Dry Gin made from organically grown ingredients, including celery leaves, juniper, coriander, angelica root, cardamom and orange peel. The latter are not dried but fresh and even peeled by hand. Contrary to one's assumption, the celery does not dominate the flavour, but it does give the Rutte Gin its special taste note. The Old Simon Rutte bottling is based on the original recipe of the inventor Simon Rutte. The Genever consists of grain spirit and 12 botanicals, such as juniper berries, coriander, celery seeds, walnuts and hazelnuts. Similar to a Single Malt Whisky, the Rutte Single Malt Genever is made only from barley and matured for four years in virgin oak casks. The barley gives the Genever aromas of chocolate, toast and caramel, while the other flavours come from the botanicals angelica and orris root, coriander seeds and, of course, juniper. 

The De Kuyper family's history in the spirits business began back in 1695 when Petrus De Kuyper and Anna Custers opened a small cooperage in Horst, a village in the south of the Netherlands. A good 50 years later, Jan De Kuyper, the third son of Anna and Petrus, bought a distillery in Schiedam (near Rotterdam) and started making Gin in 1752. Jan's sons, Johannes and Pieter, acquired other, larger distilleries in Rotterdam and Delfshaven, making the family the greatest distillers in the city. However, the promised success did not last long and after several years of unprofitable business, the sons decided to divide the business and the distilleries in Delfshaven and Rotterdam among themselves in 1825. The distilleries in Rotterdam form the basis of the company today. In the middle of the 19^th century, trade in Dutch spirits began to boom; by 1870, 85% of exports went to Great Britain and Canada. In order to survive during Prohibition in the USA, De Kuyper began exporting non-alcoholic Gin and orange bitters in 1920. At the same time, the focus changed from export to the Dutch market, with Dutch salespeople and national advertising. In 1932 and 1934, the De Kuyper family opened outposts with distilleries in Canada and New York. In the post-war years, the government decided to prioritise export over production for consumption within the country. For De Kuyper, this meant an explosive increase in production. To celebrate the 300^th anniversary, Queen Beatrix granted De Kuyper the name suffix 'Royal'. But even after three centuries, the De Kuyper family did not think of standing still. In 2011, they acquired another distillery in Dordrecht, in the Netherlands, before opening the new distillery on the Schiedam property in 2013.