I am giddy with excitement to write about the Van Kleef distillery (Lange Beestenmarkt 109), one of my favorite locations in all of Europe. The beautiful thing is they are right here in the center of The Hague. In fact, they are in the oldest part of The Hague. The owners have so much passion, knowledge, and love for their work and it shines through.

  Van Kleef - The Store

Van Kleef is not the oldest distillery in Holland, but it is one of them. The fact of the matter is the business was known as the Anchor distillery before records were kept. The Van Kleef family took over 1842, and while several other families have owned it since, the Van Kleef name stuck. The funny thing is they could claim the original distillery was established in 1672 and nobody would know. They don’t however, and I for one appreciate the honesty.

The place is nothing short of an adult candy store. They produce artisanal liqueurs, jenevers, even single malt whiskey. No artificial additives, for color or taste, are used. In verity, they use one of the last three working old world windmills in Holland to grind the grains for their whiskey. And get over the whole, “I only drink Scotch….I only drink Irish,” their whiskey is superb.

If you go in to buy a bottle of anything, plan on getting a tasting. They’ll be pouring you peach, chocolate, cinnamon, strawberry, apple tart, mint, and many other liqueurs into unbreakable glasses (they are unbreakable and they will demonstrate). Van Kleef is also a fantastic place to throw a party or meeting as they have a top notch professional kitchen and chef. The prices are reasonable and you can completely customize your function along with their help. Their customer service is very un-Dutch, as the service and care are truly remarkable.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The Product

In light of my previous comments on tasting, do not wander into Van Kleef thinking you’re entering some kind of glorified store/bar ready to get your drink on. Bring your intellect. The site is also a museum (albeit small), and they’ll give a tour (I was lucky to have Xander for mine). Of course it’s better to plan an excursion with a tasting and some top notch hors d’oeuvres. Even without a tour, if you simply wander in to pick up some bottles, you’ll be receiving a history and chemistry lesson.

Like I said, knowledge and passion. They will run you through various processes to distill; they’ll tell you the origins of jenever, and the origins for just about any alcohol for that manner. They can tell you the real circumstances under which Van Gogh cut off his ear, they can explain the “soul” of the bottle, and they can tell you the differences between old and young jenever (nothing to do with age). Oh, and Van Gogh lived in The Hague for a while and bought his alcohol from Van Kleef.

One of my favorite facts about this distillery is not only were they in The Hague’s very first telephone book, but their phone number was simply number “1.” 1 was not the number to the police or even the mayor, it was to their distillery. That is classic to me, and they have the old phonebook to show you. Remember, they are a museum.

Perhaps their shining feature is the drankorgel; no it’s not a drunkard, but a real liquor organ. Many Dutch don’t even realize where the saying comes from, and Van Kleef will break it down for you. It is one of only two left in Holland, the other being in Amsterdam and not as beautiful or well kept as this.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The Liqour Organ

The last time I went in was like every other time I’ve entered. I go in to buy a couple bottles, drink sample after sample, learn more and more history and chemistry, catch a buzz, and have to cut them off from pouring me anymore. Fleur then pours me my oprotpremie and sends me on my way.

Van Kleef, number 1 in the first phone book of The Hague, number 1 in my heart. Now that was really hokey but I don’t care. The place, people, and product are all phenomenal.

For more information, exact location and such, see the following website: www.vankleef.org

Photography by Keith Evans

Written by Keith Evans

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