De Borgen Old Style Genever

De Borgen's Old Style has a 17-year-old single malt in it — which is why Tastings.com scored it 93 points and why it stands so far apart from most Holland gins. The brand is made at Hooghoudt, a fourth-generation family distillery founded in 1888 in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands, and its three genevers trace the spirit's 400-year history: Malt Genever for the 16th century, New Style for the 19th, and this Old Style, echoing the more refined distillation of the 17th and 18th centuries, when genever traveled the world on Dutch East India Company ships and evolved into gin in England. The build is layered: malt spirit matured in Oloroso sherry casks and European oak for 17 years, juniper berry distillate triple-distilled in copper, heady unaged malt spirit, and grain alcohol to soften — the aged malt providing richness and the link between the powerful grain and the pungent juniper. Heavy on juniper, light on other botanicals, bottled at 40% ABV. Kara Newman's advice: give the pale gold spirit a couple of minutes in the glass, and the reward is a gentle almond aroma and mild vanilla sweetness rounding to dusty, earthy coriander and a ginger-spiked finish. The distillery's notes: subtle wood, aniseed, and warm spice on the nose, a smooth, undoubtedly rich graininess with juniper and soft woody tones, an elegant finish. Pinnacle called it otherworldly, and obvious why it filled pre-Prohibition bars. Sip it neat, or build the Martinez it was born for. Great with ginger beer.

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