Jan-2015
A journey into the Jenever history of Hasselt
Cheers!
Thinking of the time I got to explore Hasselt, my visit to the Jenever factory has become one of my favorite experiences in Belgium.
The city of Hasselt has a large history of Jenever, which is not to be confused with Gin.”
A young man welcomes us to the museum and shows us their bar, where we sit down and listen to the story of the museum’s history. Which is actually a quite interesting one!
A long, long time ago…
The museum used to be a little farm where they used to grow food for the nuns. After the French revolution the farm got sold to one of the wealthier families of Hasselt. By then, and this must have been around 1801, one of the family members realized that Jenever was going to be a booming business for the upcoming years. That’s when he decided to turn part of the farm into a small distillery. In the middle of the 19th century another Hasselt family from a different region in Belgium took over the distillery and made it look like the way it does today.
The best years of the Jenever industry in Hasselt were around 1865 and there were more than over 20 distilleries. It actually could’ve been about 26, the young man explains, but no one knows for sure. We do know that it must have been good business. Hasselt became such a good business city because of its nearby location to Liège, Maastricht and Cologne. It was basically a great cross point.
A big difference between the Jenever from Hasselt and other parts of the country is that it’s strongly aromatized due to the Dutch occupation. It has a lot of botanicals in comparison to the ones from East- or West-Flanders or like Antwerp.
At the beginning of the 20th century there was an anti-alcohol movement, who were all taking measures against drinking alcohol. The government started increasing the taxes, right after the First World War, and the ‘Wet vandervelde’ (a law from 1919) sorted out the use of alcohol in Belgium. It was not allowed anymore to buy liquor at public places and whenever someone wanted to buy alcohol at a liquor store the price would be high enough that a normal laborer couldn’t afford it.
By law the Jenever industry got some difficulties and especially after the Second World War things got worse. Producers began to blend flavors with malt wine, that they didn’t purchase anymore by themselves but purchased elsewhere, and they even started making whiskey and many other spirits. With the result that competition was up and the products from France and brands like Martini and Bacardi began to find the market very interesting as well.
The local Jenever producers couldn’t compete very well against the others.
The products that have survived had numerous attempts to put Jenever on the map around the 70’s in Belgium and in the Netherlands. In the 80’s the fruit and cream Jenevers came and today it is known as a white spirit and as a base for cocktails.
The distillery was finally taken over by another family who had struggled after the Second World War. In the late 60’s the main owner died, and since he had no children and his wife did not want to continue the distillery the entire complex became an empty one. It seemed a fully collapsed ruin with debris.
There were a number of people from Hasselt who said Hasselt never knew a big economy, had no great art dealers, but that Jenever had been so important that its Jenever industry had to be continued. A number of people from Hasselt arranged that the building became protected and started fixing it.
Nowadays at the museum
If you walk into the Jenever museum today you can still find some interesting facts from its earlier years. When you enter the reception, a friendly man is there to provide you with information, but you should take a look around you and notice where you are actually standing. This room used to be the ox house. You can see this when you notice the feeding trough for the oxen.
Visit the Jenever Museum
Would you like to visit the Jenever Museum in Hasselt? That’s possible! An individual ticket to the museum (drink included) costs €6 and you can find the museum at the Witte Nonnenstraat 19, Hasselt. It’s open basically every day from 10:00 – 17:00 except on Mondays.
Would you like to read some more about the Jenever Museum? Click here for their website!
About Renate Rigters
Ever since I left my home country I felt at home at any other place I went to. I enjoy getting to know more cultures by talking to strangers and hearing their philosophy about life. Speaking with gestures when you can not find a shared language, finding places only the locals go to and learn about their customs and values. Hanging out with local people makes me happy. The experience of every new place is a step out of your comfort zone where I like to wander around until it feels like a second home.
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