by Sarah Le-Fevre

Created on: November 07, 2009   Last Updated: November 09, 2009

For those who prefer a more historical herbal high, the 'brown cafes of Amsterdam provide a warm and traditional welcome. The herb in question is Juniper (strictly speaking, a berry, not a herb), the main flavouring of Jenever. Once seated in the comfortable armchairs at De Admiraal (Herengracht 319) or propped up at the bar in the standing room only part of Hoppe (Spui 18-20), you may wish to argue whether the name of the drink comes from the berry or from the city of Geneva, where it was apparently first distilled.

Closely related to Gin, but softer in taste, this spirit has come a long way from its origins as a medicine in the 16th Century. Many of the Brown Cafes or 'proeflokaals' (tasting houses) you will find in Amsterdam date back to the 1600s, when Jenever first started to be drunk for its taste, rather than its ability to alleviate lumbago and other aches and pains.

While sunnier, more southerly European countries could produce wine, northerly countries like the Netherlands had to look to grains and other ingredients to produce alcoholic drinks. The results, whilst clear and pure, lacked the complex flavours of the grape (or indeed any flavour at all, in some cases). Herbs had to be added to make the 'korenbrandewijn' (literally 'roasted corn wine') more palatable.

Amsterdam was in the midst of the Dutch 'Golden Age' at the centre of world trade. The busy port was awash with exotic plants and spices from around the globe, which allowed Dutch distillers to experiment with the korenbrandewijn recipe to produce a variety of popular new drinks. One of the most enduring is the Bols Blue Curacao recipe, which is still selling well today. The rather less exotic, and supposedly medicinal, Juniper berry became the flavouring for the Jenever recipe which was the idea of pharmacist and alchemist, Sylvius de Bouve.

The Bols family started their distilling in a small shed by a river near Amsterdam. A brown caf taking its name from the 'small shed', 't Loosje, can be found at Nieuwmarkt 32-34. They became the most successful distillers in Amsterdam by the start of the 17th century and moved to larger premises on the Rozengracht (Rose Canal). This canal was later filled in and is now one of the main road routes into the city.

Just round the corner in the Jordaan, once run-down, but now up-market and gentrified, you will find many brown cafes, including 't Smallje (Egelantiersgracht 12), which was once a tasting house for the Hoppe distillery. Thijssen (Brouwersgracht

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