World Cup Fever

Belgium vs. France

Our house has been swept up in World Cup fever.  The semi-finals start today with Belgium vs. France.  Who needs a better excuse to find a drink that could represent these two countries? Not me.  Instantly my mind went to beer and wine - unfortunately that won't work for a cocktail blog.  So back to the drawing board.

I remembered that when my better half of this blog wrote her post on gin I did a little reading in my Meehan's Bartender Manual on gin and I learned of genever.  To directly quote Meehan's -

The word gin is an Anglicization of genever, which is how the Dutch pronounced the old French word genevre, derived from juniperus, the Latin word for juniper.  Through the etymology of the word, you can neatly trace the ancestry of dry gin back through Dutch genever to Brussels (hence the French) where it was first distilled with juniper berries, its namesake botanical. 

Well then - I've got my base liquor, genever. With a little more research I found the classic Improved Holland Gin cocktail - made famous by Jerry Thomas.  Yes, that Jerry Thomas of the Martinez. This was fate.

The Improved Holland Gin Cocktail 

2 oz. Bols Genever
3 dashes simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash Dry Curacao (I used Grand Marnier instead)
1 dash absinthe

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass, fill with ice and stir for about 20 seconds.  Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.


Now I know the name is a little confusing for a post about Belgium and France but since genever is Belgium's national spirit and absinthe (and Grand Marnier) speak french to me I thought this would work!

by Nicola O'Neil