AGINBLOSSOMS
Holland’s famous malt spirit
makes a comeback
Genever, a type of gin created in the
16
th century by blending malt wine,
neutral alcohol and botanicals, is
Holland’s most distinctive home-
grown spirit. By the late 20th century,
however, it had fallen out of fashion
among young Dutch drinkers, who’d
moved on to cocktails made with vodka and
rum (mojitos have been huge for a while now).
But in recent years Bols, the country’s largest
genever producer, has been spearheading a
revival, encouraging students at its bartend-
ing academy in Amsterdam to start playing
with the stuff. At Door 74—Amsterdam’s first
speakeasy-style bar—head barkeep
Timo Janse
gets creative with his stash.
HOPSCOTCHTOHOLLAND
Miniature chocolate skulls, con-
ceived with leading Dutch design firm
Studio Job, evoke the work of renegade
British artist Damien Hirst. A few years
back, Herman served dessert “tattoos”
designed by Hanky Panky, a well-known
ta oo artist who once inked Kurt Cobain.
These inspirations, and many more,
are showcased in Herman’s book, which
explores the complicated question of
where ideas come fromby profilingmusi-
cians, chefs, visual artists and architects
who have influenced him. The lavish,
photo-filled volume comes with its own
audio player, containing interviews with
several of the book’s big names as well as
narration by Herman himself. “When you
go to a museum, you hear stories through
a headset that take you deeper into the
artist’s world,” he says. “I wanted to do the
same thing for my food.”
Inmaintaining all these varied interests
and funneling them into cuisine, Herman,
42,
appears to have an almost superhuman
drive. Last summer he signed on with the
Tomorrowland festival, anelectronicmusic
blowout in Belgium, where he cooked
under a tent for eight lucky winners who,
likeWillyWonka’s potential protégés, had
snagged “golden tickets.” He’s developing
his first city restaurant, in an old military
hospital chapel in Antwerp, and is in talks
to open an eatery on Ibiza. He has a string
of cookbooks in the works and recently
published a magazine with his name and
face on the cover. And somehow he still
finds time to cookatOudSluis, showingup
in the kitchen for just about every service.
“
I work 17, 18 hours a day. I don’t really
need sleep,” Herman says, but adds that
he’s not planning to keep that pace up
forever. “I’ve got a date in my head when
I’ll shut the door at Oud Sluis. I want to
stop while I’m at my peak.” Many wonder
how much further that can possibly be
fromwhere he is right now.
›
1½
oz. genever
›
1½
oz. Lillet Blanc
›
¾
oz. green Chartreuse
›
1
oz. fresh lemon juice
›
2
dashes grapefruit
bitters
1.
Mix all ingredients in
a shaker and shake
vigorously.
2.
Strain into a martini
glass and garnish with a
grapefruit peel.
DISPATCHES
||
FOOD&DRINK
AUDIO, BOOK
Sergio Herman’s
Sergiology
,
complete with digital
audio of interviews he conducted
30
JANUARY 2013
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
TONY LE DUC/COURTESY SERGIO HERMAN (BOOK)
