De Kuyper unveils Dutch Dry Gin

by Alice Brooker

De Kuyper has launched a ‘modern enhancement’ of its Rutte Celery Gin, an expression produced with organic botanicals.

Refined with hand-peeled orange zest, all the flavours in Rutte Dutch Dry Gin derive from fresh fruit, herbs and nuts, with no artificial colours or flavours used in the process.  Master distiller Myriam Hendrickx said: “Our Dutch Dry Gin unites everything Rutte stands for, hand-crafted in our family distillery, natural and high-quality ingredients with celery in focus. Some may mistake it for salad celery, but it is a distinctive plant, very typically Dutch as used in savoury dishes in the Netherlands. "Using hand-peeled orange zest is quite unique in the gin industry. We harmonised all ingredients in a perfectly balanced taste profile with slight notes of mint, parsley and celery. A little aniseed makes for a spicy and fresh dash." Hendrickx recommends the liquid served with tonic water or used to make a Basil Smash. The launch of the new gin will be promoted by a new marketing campaign, called 'Wander off into a botanical world', in which the brand tells its "botanical success story", explained Albert De Heer, global marketing director at De Kuyper Royal Distillers. "[It is] the story of how we have found a way to create our product and incorporate the finest natural ingredients that nature has to offer," De Heer commented. "It’s craftsmanship you can almost taste without actually drinking it.”  The expression was crafted in the Rutte microdistillery, in Dordrecht, and is presented in an art deco bottle. The Dutch Dry Gin will join the brand's international portfolio, which includes Rutte Old Simon Genever and Rutte Sloe Gin.  The 43% ABV gin is available in the Netherlands, and retails for RRP €24.95 (US$28.21) per 700ml bottling. It will soon be released in Germany. De Kuyper recently debuted a line of zero-ABV pre-mixed cocktails, comprising four non-alcoholic variants: Mojito, Strawberry Daiquiri, Margarita and Pornstar Martini.