Jenever Review // De Moor - 1910 Founder’s Reserve XO 12 y/o
A genever review? On a whisky blog? Why? Because it’s a fantastic product. And it’s barrel aged. And it’s been matured on wine casks. For 12 years. If this doesn’t catch your attention, then I don’t know what will…
Text is © Mickaël Van Nieuwenhove
Photography is © Mickaël Van Nieuwenhove
I recently did a post on the Instagram channel about De Moor, a family business selling wines and spirits, with its own distillery that dates back to 1910. Thanks to my grandfather, I have been a customer ever since I was old enough to enjoy wines and spirits. I remember entering the shop with him and being able to choose a bottle for my birthday. I miss him dearly.
Now that I am focusing more on the people behind brands in my “Friends of The Campfire Dram” series (IG), I thought it was a good opportunity to tell the (abbreviated) story of the De Moor distillery, while at the same time reviewing their cask aged grain jenever. I’m also going to give a bit of information on the history of jenever. Let’s start with that.
What is jenever? And why isn’t it gin?
Jenever (or Genever, if you prefer the international spelling) is a distillate made from grains like rye, malted barley, or corn. This, in itself, is the biggest difference between its cousin, gin. Gin can be distilled from almost anything that can be fermented. The use of juniper berries (originally used to mask the poor taste of distilled malt wine) gave birth to the name of the spirit: jenever/genever and gin.
There is also a geographical difference. Jenever is made in The Netherlands, Belgium, and certain parts of France and Germany. Because of the historic and cultural value of this spirit, the name “jenever” is actually protected by the European Union. More on this via this link.
Jenever can also be divided into 2 categories: (1) in unaged (‘jonge’/young) jenever and (2) aged (‘oude’) jenever. Further distinctions are made based on the grains that are used before distillation. For example, grain jenever is made from grain and malt only.
The De Moor Family and their distillery
The absurdly abdriged history of jenever takes me back to 1910, to a small town by the name of Aalst where a man named Frans De Moor started a distillery of liqueurs and jenevers together with his wife Anna Lafon. Besides their own products, they also sold other spirits and wines.
The post-war decade resulted in an increase of interest in foreign products, and by the late 1950s, the foundation was created for a shop that would contain a wide variety of spirits, champagnes, liqueurs, and wines from all over the world, while at the same time the distillery continued using the original recipes.
Just before the new millennium, and after the shop moved from the center of Aalst to its current location, the De Moor family decided to completely refurbish the distillery. In 2010, the distillery released its 12 year old single malt jenever as an homage to the founder of the company, celebrating the 100th birthday of the family business.
In 2012, their first premium gin, Flemish Gin 20-3, was bottled and labeled. At the same time, Carolien Van Schandevijl joined the company, which meant a continuation of the distillery and shop for 5 generations. Her younger sister Liesbeth followed in 2018, strengthening the family ties in the company.
1910 Founder's Reserve XO 12 year old Single Malt Grain Jenever
I was gifted a lovely bottle of the 1910 Founder’s Reserve for review, and as a fan of their ‘normal’ jenever and rye malt (both named after a very famous person from Aalst, Dirk Martens), I felt giddy with excitement.
I did not expect anything robust or sharp-edged, but expected this spirit to be refined and soft-spoken, perfect for a rainy autumnal evening. I was not disappointed.
As I’m writing this, I poured myself a generous dram of this 100% malted grain jenever. The maturation on wine casks (French oak, medium toast, previously containing Pomerol for 18 months, followed by Saint-Emilion for another 12 months) and its 12 years of aging give this expression a ‘hush-hush’ and ‘soft-spoken’ character. Think silk on silk as a texture, wool socks on a carpet, and a fog bank muting the world around you. But in a bottle.
At 43% ABV, this is almost as strong as the whisky industry standard, but I should refrain from further comparisons. It is its own category. There’s no burn, but a pocket of warming delight at the end of palate. There’s the classic jenever scent and taste, but its malty character and wood notes are more fragile, more vulnerable. The wine barrel effect, to me, is all about ‘deepening’ the experience with warmer notes of red fruit and a soft tanginess. High-quality, for sure.