I'm taking a bit of a chance here today, with this blog topic. I'm well aware that some folks hate pumpkin-spiced consumables, and feel that these are way overdone, in the autumn season and in the month of October especially. But I couldn't resist. I've probably mentioned this before, but I don't mind the proliferation of pumpkin-flavored foods and drinks during the Halloween season. Sometimes they're good, sometimes not, but I don't see what the big deal is. If you don't like the flavor, it's easy enough not to eat it. I think every person dislikes some edible or drinkable, so avoiding the ones you hate seems like a minor inconvenience. However, clearly many people disagree with me. Anyway, today's focus is a pumpkin-spiced liqueur from Bols.
Bols bills itself as the oldest distillery in the world, claiming a start date of 1575, in Amsterdam. While no source seems to directly contradict this, it seems slightly questionable, or at least the history is kind of vague. We're not told what the name of the founder(s) is, other than that they were presumably surnamed Bols. The first surviving reference to the business isn't from until 1640. The most famous member of the Bols clan, Lucas Bols, was then born in 1652. He led the company to an enormously productive period, aided by capital earned from his being a major shareholder in the very lucrative (but controversial in other ways) Dutch East India Company. The next highly significant historic company event occurred in the early 1800's. Bols was struggling mightily. In part due to the blockade enacted by Napoleon. Also, the last Bols direct heir, Herman, died in 1813. Therefore, in 1816 the business was sold to Gabriel Theodorus van't Wout, although he kept Bols as the company's name. Bols rebounded but in 1868 it was sold again, this time to the Moltzer family. Again, the firm prospered--among other things they received many royal warrants from surrounding European nations. They also opened Bols distilleries in other countries, including France, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, South Africa, Argentina, and the U.S., from the 1920's to 1947. In 1954 the Moltzers sold out, and Bols became a publicly traded company. Otherwise, Bols attempted its first non-alcoholic products (soft drinks, mineral waters, bitters) in 1983, and became the dominant producer of genever (the Netherlands' traditional drink, a juniper-flavored liquor that was a precursor to gin) in 1986 with the purchase of the Henkes company. The next several decades saw Bols join with and then separate from several other firms until its final sale to ABN AMRO Capital and the group led by Huub van Doorne in 2006. Bols makes over 30 kinds of liquors, including advocaat, apricot brandy, blue Curacao, creme de cassis (see my post on August 21, 2021), butterscotch schnapps, mango liqueur, sloe gin, and triple sec. Finally, according to its website, Bols initial liquor flavors, way back in 1575, were cumin, cardamom, and orange.
Bols pumpkin spice liqueur: Had an orange color, not shockingly. The odor was slight, but rather like vanilla and pumpkins. As usual, I didn't have much in the way of mixers, so I just tried it straight, and chilled. It did taste a bit boozy--its alcohol content is 21%. But it was pretty good overall. If you like pumpkin flavor in general, you'll probably like this. (And I guess if you don't, this probably will also be disappointing.) I appreciated that they tried a different kind of liquor flavor. It turned out well enough. Not my favorite drink or anything, but more than okay. Also, I guess you can use this to annoy friends who vocally hate pumpkin spiced things.
Just one final tidbit--the Dutch traditional drink genever (which has many alternate spellings), is also sometimes known as "Dutch Courage." Which is also a term used to describe alcohol in general, as in someone whose bravery is thought to have come out of a bottle, and not from their own strength of character.
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