DUTCH COURAGE

Genever and cocktails
And it was not just the British. Dutch spirits have played a major role on the world stage for hundreds of years. Tess Posthumus: “Our traditional genever was widely traded and drunk all over the world. And during the American ‘Golden Age of Cocktails’ (1850-1920), genever was one of the four spirits used as a base in cocktails, alongside brandy, whiskey and rum. 25% of all classic cocktails are traditionally based on genever! At Dutch Courage we let our guests fall in love again with this Dutch spirit and other beautiful distillates, such as Dutch gin, rum and old-Dutch liqueurs. The Zeedijk, traditionally a neighbourhood where ships full of herbs and spices entered the country, is therefore the ideal location.”

Ode to genever and Dutch drinking culture
Cocktail bar Dutch Courage combines 150 different genevers from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany with an extensive range of genevers based cocktails and is an ode to genever and old-Dutch liqueurs. Foreign spirits, with stories that lead back to the Netherlands, are also available. Timo Janse: “We want to offer a good balance between a high-quality cocktail bar on the one hand and the cozy, ’gezellige’ and accessible ambience of the traditional local pub on the other. We therefore do not take reservations. In addition to a cocktail based on Dutch history, you can also enjoy a genever tasting flight or a qualitative ‘kopstootje’ with local beers.”

First 'kopstootjes-automatiek' in the world
The traditional ‘kopstootje’, a glass of genever in combination with a beer, can of course be ordered at the bar from the bartenders trained by Posthumus and Janse. In addition, Posthumus has finally been able to realise an idea that she has been walking around with for some time. At Zeedijk 12 you will find the first cooled ‘kopstootjes-automatiek’ in the world. A traditional Dutch vending machine customised to serve three sorts of genever, paired together with a cold beer on the side. Posthumus and Janse selected their three favourite combinations and you simply pull the miniature clay genever jugs with young, old or 100% moutwijn genever, and a bottle of beer from the wall. This fits well within the ideas of Posthumus and Janse to make cocktails and genever more accessible to a wider audience. Posthumus: “It is just super fun to pull something out of the wall. Nostalgic for the Dutch and a special experience for the tourist. And also nice and covid-proof!”.

Joint projects

Hospitality professionals Tess Posthumus and Timo Janse opened their first bar Flying Dutchmen Cocktails in december 2017. This cocktailbar is located in the heart of Amsterdam and its focus is on (neo-)classic cocktails. Flying Dutchmen is located on Singel 460 in Amsterdam and features the largest backbar of the Netherlands with over 800 unique spirits. It is open 7 days per week, from 5 pm till 4 am, making it the latest cocktailbar of Amsterdam. Other ventures by Tess and Timo include the organisation of Amsterdam Cocktail Week since 2017. For a week, Amsterdam’s most prominent bars give workshops and develop signature cocktails in collaboration with an alcoholic and non-alcoholic brand. All to reduce the still existing threshold of the cocktail in the Netherlands and to offer the non-alcoholic variety the spotlight it deserves. In addition to Amsterdam Cocktail Week, the duo is owner of Perfect Serve Barshow, the annual bar convent for high end hospitality, which takes place in the Westerunie Amsterdam on 12 and 13 May 2020. Tess Posthumus and Timo Janse also represent Difford’s Guide Netherlands, the online bartender platform diffordsguide.com, with a database of over 4000 cocktail recipes and a million monthly visitors.

Contact

Stay informed via facebook.com/dutchcouragecocktails or follow the team on instagram @dutchcouragecocktails. For additional information or interview requests, please contact info@dutchcouragecocktails.com.