Before gin conquered the world, there was genever. The Dutch spirit, distilled with malt wine and botanical infusions, was the original juniper drink—gin's ancestor, not its sibling. But somewhere between the 1700s and now, genever vanished from American bars, replaced by London Dry gins that claimed the juniper crown. Now, after a decade of craft spirits recovery, bartenders are bringing it back. At Angel's Share, a hidden bar beneath a Tokyo restaurant in Midtown, head bartender Tom Chi has engineered six cocktails around genever, outnumbering his bourbon-based offerings. Why Genever Tastes Like Nothing Else The spirit's complexity comes from malt wine—distilled grain alcohol aged in wood—which adds vanilla, grain, and slight floral notes absent in gin. Genever also maintains a lower alcohol content (35% ABV versus gin's 40%), allowing botanicals to express themselves more delicately. Chi mixes Bols genever with sweet vermouth and Chartreuse for a cocktail called "The Tulip," which tastes somehow both herbal and creamy, funky and clean. "Genever is what happens when you stop chasing purity and start embracing texture," Chi explains to confused customers. The Dutch market offers three styles: jonge (young, lighter), oud (old, grain-forward), and korenwijn (highest malt content, most complex). Start with jonge genever in a simple martini-style template. You'll taste why bartenders are suddenly obsessed.