I first found Bobby’s Gin at Junipalooza 2016 in London. This was a fantastic festival where I got to sample gins from around 30 different distillers, pouring 3-4 of their gins apiece. I had heard some buzz about this gin prior to the festival, but there were so many gins to try during the fo
ur-hour period that I was just concentrating on moving from one to the next.
Bobby’s Schiedam Dry Gin made me stop in my tracks. My friend and I, running out of time, were looking for gins we absolutely couldn’t miss; and someone happened to see Sebastiaan van Bokkel, the creator of Bobby’s Gin, walking by. Full disclosure: I had tried many gins before I got around to Bobby’s. I was starting to feel all the gin I had consumed, and was a little hungry at this point. Poor Sebastiaan was trying desperately to eat a cup of macaroni and cheese in between talking to the hundreds of people streaming by his booth.
Cheese, y’all. It took a fair amount of strength not to take his mac and cheese and run. And then be able to concentrate on his gin. He poured my friend and I a taste – neat, garnished with a clove-studded orange slice. It was unlike anything I had tried that day.
So, who is Bobby? He was Sebastiaan’s grandfather, who emigrated to the Netherlands from Indonesia. He settled in Schiedam, an area known for producing genever, and started infusing the local genever with herbs and spices dear to him from Indonesia. Fast forward 64 years, and Bobby’s gin, the modern version of his drink, was born at Herman Jansen, incorporating the traditional botanicals you’d expect in gin – juniper, rose hips, and fennel with Indonesian botanicals – lemongrass, cloves, coriander, cubeb pepper, and cinnamon.
Only organi
c botanicals are used, all are distilled separately, and no sugar is added.
I recently bought a bottle of Bobby’s Dry Gin. And was relieved that I still found it as special as I did in London. The first taste is heavy (and the aroma heady!) with the acidic lemongrass and sweetness of the cloves and cinnamon, with a nice spicy finish on the back end from the pepper and juniper. The mouthfeel is silky, yet the spice leaves a nice tingle on the tongue.
The tall brown bottle is lovely, with an Indonesian Ikat pattern, yet with the look of a classic genever bottle; again combining the Indonesian heritage with Dutch tradition.
I personally enjoy Bobby’s neat, but it is also recommend as a gin and tonic, martini, and a fizz.
