“I TASTED AND THOUGHT THIS IS THE BEST THAT I HAVE EVER HAD.”
“It was January or February sometime last year, it was cold and I was not happy. I wanted to stay in all night. Then my friend Kasper said: Come on, let's go outside. Reluctantly I went to the cafe. There we ordered jenever as a joke. We were grumpy and rowdy. So it went like: oh, do gin too. I thought it was an old fart drink, but according to Kasper it was very tasty. I tasted it and thought, this is the best thing I've ever had.
Jenever has something warm, something winter too. For me it's the perfect drink for when it's raining or snowing outside, for when the weather is bad. I drink it whenever I feel like it and when I've read aloud with the Poetry Club, preferably in combination with a beer: the beer for the thirst, jenever for the taste. The Dichtclub is a group of poets in and around Groningen, who recite every first Wednesday of the month in Kroeg van Klaas. A glass of gin is my reward.
Since I drink jenever, I have an eye for beautiful shot glasses, I have about ten, hexagonal ones and also a few with fruit prints all around. The most beautiful is my grandfather's glass, with a golden rim. When my father heard that I drink gin, he saw: I still have a glass for you and gave me Grandpa's glass. I don't drink out of it because I'm kind of clumsy and I don't want anything to happen to it. Recently I saw a hip flask like this somewhere. I stood at the checkout and thought: I don't know if that's possible.'
Text: Lieke van den Krommenacker
Image: Nienke Maat
