Give it a whirl – Jenever capital Schiedam with its mighty windmills

WIND in your sails. It has a romantic ring to it. As in galleons… or windmills. Definitely not the legions of wind turbines that now stalk the globe’s estuaries. As our P&O ferry, the Pride of Rotterdam, prods its bulk towards that city’s Europoort we pass the behemoth Haliade-X 12 MW. Once the world’s largest at 28m high with 100m long metal propellors, it’s a midget compared with recent Chinese rivals in the renewables race.

Cobbles, bridges, gabled merchant’s houses, the Dutch Golden Age in miniature

The Dutch of, course, are famous for harnessing the elements. The prevalence of the word dam in town names is testament to their land reclamation skills. For centuries windmills have been used to drain the polders; from even earlier they ground the grain. The inland port of Schiedam, within the urban sprawl of Rotterdam, is the perfect introduction; offering a cluster of the tallest traditional windmills in the world. The practical reason? Reaching above the rooftops to catch the wind.

Delft may have its Vermeer; Schiedam has its Jenever. It is synonymous with this juniper-based spirit. Back in 1575 it gave birth the world’s first commercial distillery and those mills have always played a vital role in the process, grinding malted grain for the ‘burners’, which distilled malt wine for the industry.

Today there are just six left in the town proper, compared with 30 in Schiedam’s grimy 18th and 19th century heyday, when it was known as ‘Black Nazareth’. Its facades were soot-smutted by nearly 400 roasting houses and distilleries. Herring fishing and clothing couldn’t compete with the lucrative jenever export trade. As a precursor to our modern gin, it was the ‘mother’s ruin’ of those rowdy Hogarth London prints. And it gave rise to the phrase 'Dutch courage', adopted by British forces after they saw how their  Dutch counterparts were dosed with jenever to generate false bravado.

There are still active distilleries in town – the most famous brand being Ketel One – but the quaysides now have a charming, non-industrial feel. Cobbles, bridges, gabled merchant’s houses, the Dutch Golden Age in miniature… and yet just a 20 minute Metro ride from central Rotterdam, which was mostly rebuilt after wartime devastation.

Quaysides are a perfect place to practise your ‘slenteren’

Where to start your exploration of Schiedam? Grab yourself a map from the tourist information office tucked into the side of the Grote or Sint Janskerk, a Gothic church with a towering spire and impressive stained glass. Then to get your bearings stroll along the main waterway, the Lange Haven. The Dutch have a word for this kind of leisurely meander: slenteren.

The mansions that line both banks are testimony to its lucrative mercantile past. The Dutch East India Company were the first traders to import coffee into Europe and Coenraad Johannes van Houten was a later pioneer in creating edible hard chocolate. So it feels appropriate to stop off for a cappuccino at De Bonte Koe a glamorous artisanal chocolate shop at No.54 Lange Haven. Their hand-made treats are crafted from organic cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic.

Regard it is as a base camp before you tackle the inevitable windmill. Since it doubles up as a museum your best bet is De Walvisch (‘The Whale’ – some connections with the Greenland whaling trade). A fire severely damaged it 30 years ago, but a canny restoration has created today’s perfect introduction to Schiedam’s milling history. There are stairs and step ladders involved to reach the viewing platform. Wind was slight and the sails weren’t in operation, so it was safe to step out and enjoy the full panorama.

On the way up you’ll be treated to a 180° audiovisual history show, experience the miller’s former living quarters, and admire the intricate wooden gears in the company of the veteran miller. Back down below in the shop we bought bags of bread and pancake flour, ground at another of the mills. In summer from here on the Neue Haven, parallel with the Lange Haven, hourlong Whisper Boat tours explore the local waterways (a trip included in the Rotterdam Pass).

We had been shown around by Marco Spruit Bleeker, director of the linked Nationaal Jenevermuseum, just a two minute walk away. This doubles up as a working distillery, giving you a hands-on taste of traditional jenever in its various forms. Juniper as a key botanical is the common denominator with the more familiar gin, but the 17th  century Old-Dutch method employed at the Museum can create a spirit more akin to whisky. Their signature brand is Old Schiedam Pure Malt Wine Genever. Using malted barley and rye, it is triple-distilled, then oak-aged for three years.

In the Museum’s atmospheric setting the exhibitions are colourful, offering easily digested information, but the proof (up to 40 per cent) is in the sampling. So finish off at the proeflokaal (tasting room) with jenever guru Henk dispensing the full range.

To quote a 19th century Dutch poet: “Jenever and love please a sailor the most, together they banish cares and torments from his soul”. The same could apply to cocktails – our next spirited challenge.

Creative cocktail hour at The Copper Club

Fortunately ace mixologist Arno van Eijmeren adopted a lighter pour at our Copper Club cocktail masterclass. This highly recommended Schiedam diversion takes place at the Nolet distillery, which is a 15 minute walk south beyond De Plantage, Europe’s oldest urban park. The Nolet family have for generations been big cheeses in this town and their spirits reach is now global with huge vodka sales in the US. Power for their brewing factory comes from the Noletmoilen. Erected 20 years ago, at 55m high including the sails, it is the tallest windmill in town (except this newbie is really a modern wind turbine disguised as a traditional mill).

Similarly surprising is the recently arrived Copper Club. From the outside, dwarfed by the windmill, it is just another white-clad suburban villa. Step inside and you’re in an ante-room dominated by three huge stained glass windows referencing the windmill, a cocktail with juniper berries and the No.1 Still – a kettle dating back to 1864 still central to Nolet production. You take all this in while sipping a welcome cocktail. Ketel 1 Jenever, apricot brandy, lime, sugar and ginger beer combine to cleanse the palate, as they say.

Then it’s down a copper-lined tunnel to Arno’s lair, featuring a hugely well-equipped stainless steel bar. Here for the next two hours he’ll take you through making three different cocktails, along the way imparting some revelatory tips. For example, shaking doesn’t just chill your drink – it also adds dilution, which is key for balance. Over-shaking is bad for deeper flavours like whisky or rum. The whole Copper Club experience defines the term immersive. Two things confirmed: Maybe I’ve got some work to do on my shaking technique and I still can’t get on with espresso martinis.

What else to in Schiedam when you are ‘junipered out’

De Korenbeurs doesn’t serve alcohol; their coffee is excellent, though. This old grain trading floor is housed in an imposing classical edifice with an ornate facade and a light-filled interior now occupied by a public library. Resident exotic trees (think tamarind, tobacco, olives} give it an almost Kew-like feel.

Harder to pronounce is the nearby Zakkendragershuij. It means ‘Sack Carriers House’ – the guild of porters who bagged up the grain (koren). Built in 1725, this rectangular brick building boasts a porter as a weather vane above a tower, whose bell summoned the porters when a merchant ship approached. 

The town is home to a surprising  number of small galleries, often in converted warehouses – follow the ‘Art Route’ on your map – but don’t neglect the public Stedelijk Museum. Housed in a former hospital it offers contemporary art shows plus the permanent Panorama Schieden exhibition, charting Schiedam’s long history up to modern times.

A couple of places to eat well in Schiedam

For lunch look no further than the Vlaamsch Broodhuys, a branch of the upmarket bakery chain that has been the sourdough standard-bearer across the Netherlands for 30 years. The shelves of artisan loaves greet you as you step off the Korte Haven, with its historic drawbridge, into the Schiedam branch’s hip bare brick interior. Order a selection of open sandwiches to your table. The likes of mackerel rillettes with grilled peppers and horseradish or egg salad with truffle tapenade. Wash them down with a bottle of Lowlander grapefruit and coriander infused IPA (with the old sea dog monkey on the label).

For dinner after a long day of slenteren look no further than the Groter Markt and attractive neighbourhood brasserie De Eenling. The name means ‘Loner’ In Dutch and chef patron Marnix Benschop looked to be cooking solo early in the evening. We waved to him up in his mezzanine kitchen. In response he delivered a series of delicious small plates, inventive but rooted in classic French cuisine. Coq au vin? Terrific wines? All present and correct. Vive Le Schiedam!

Don’t miss my main report on Rotterdam – Passport to a Melting Pot 

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