Genever glasses

The capacity of a jenever glass is almost always between 3.5 and 5 cl, and that difference matters more than it seems. The 3.5 cl is the standard bar measure: filled to the rim it is exactly one serving, so nothing needs to be measured out. The 5 cl leaves room not to pour right to the top, which is more comfortable if you have to carry the glass or if you want to smell before you drink.

That last point is also the difference between young and old. Young jenever is light and neutral, is drunk freezer cold and takes a brim-full pour in a 3.5 cl glass perfectly well. Old jenever contains more malt wine and has aromas of grain, vanilla and sometimes cask ageing that you only smell once there is air above the drink. The rummer of 5 cl works better for that, poured halfway and served cool instead of ice cold. A fill line is standard equipment in hospitality and handy at home, because you can see at a glance whether the round is fair. Have a look at the broader shot and liqueur glasses and the shot glasses as well.

The best known way to drink jenever is the kopstoot: a brim-full serving next to a glass of beer, where you first take the jenever from the table without using your hands and only then pick up the beer. The recipe and the order are written out on the kopstoot page, and you will find the matching glass among the beer glasses.

If you would rather taste than drink, set up a small tasting: start with young jenever from the freezer, move on to old jenever at cellar temperature and finish with korenwijn, which holds the highest share of malt wine and comes closest to whisky. Pour small measures and rinse the glass in between with a dash of the next jenever rather than with water. There are cocktails on a jenever base as well; the amsterdam sour is the best known of the modern generation.

Jenever glasses are small and heavy at the foot, which makes them surprisingly robust. The bowl itself is thin at the rim because you drink right up to that rim, and that is where the vulnerability sits. They can go in the dishwasher, but place them apart and not pushed into each other, because small glasses jam easily. A fill line applied by sandblasting or as a ceramic print stays put; a printed line can fade after hundreds of wash cycles. Store the glasses upright in the freezer if you mostly serve young jenever, then the first round is at temperature straight away.

If you are looking for the same size for liqueur or a sweet finish, have a look at the liqueur glasses. The brand that makes most Dutch shot glasses can be found at Royal Leerdam. And if you want to pour precisely at home without a fill line in the glass, the jiggers do that job. Anyone completing a home bar puts glassware for craft beer next to it, because in this country jenever and beer simply belong at the same table.