Wynand Fockink Jenever Tasting Review

Wondering about the Wynand Fockink Jenever Tasting? You just found the best Jenever bar in Amsterdam and it’s definitely worth a visit!

But you might just miss it if you don’t know it’s there – it’s a small (quite hidden) distillery in the heart of Amsterdam that will leave you speechless – and tipsy! 😉

To be completely honest, I’m really not sure how we found out about Wynand Fockink, but man am I glad that we did.

We have an entire list of unique things to do in Amsterdam, but this jenever tasting in Amsterdam is truly unique. So when we were invited to attend a tasting, we jumped at the opportunity!

In this post, we worked with the distillery to share our experience with you. So if you like liquor and you’re planning a trip to Amsterdam, this is the post for you!

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Wynand Fockink Jenever Tasting

The tasting itself is pretty straightforward.

Show up, have some liquor, tour the distillery, walk out quite tipsy.

But it’s so much more than that.

Since we ~~love~~ have a fondness of alcohol 😉 we’ve done our fair share of winery and liquor tastings (really I’m the resident wino here, but I’m taking Julien down with me).

And out of all the distilleries we’ve been to this one was the most fun. Here’s why:

The groups were super small. We got to have great conversations with the bartender and the only other couple on our tour.
The actual place is tiny. In typical Amsterdam style, the building was quite narrow, but included an entire distillery inside. Crazy right?
There was so much booze. Normally on the tastings we’ve been to they only give you a sip of each wine or liquor. That was definitely not the case here. Not only were we not encouraged to spit it out (like normal tastings so you don’t get drunk) but our tour guide re-poured the ones we liked the best. How amazing is that?

At the end of the tasting you get to team up with the others in your group to create you own mixed drink with the local spirits. Then that recipe goes down in their books as an official recipe at Wynand Fockink.

And of course you can’t leave without taking a shot the traditional Dutch way…

First you stand with your hands behind your back, then you lean forward until you can actually sip the top of the drink off.

And I know what you’re thinking…why not just pick it up to drink it?

Well, t’s because they fill the tiny glass up so much that picking it up would mean spilling it all over the bar.

And they we’re right (facepalm)

I might have been a little tipsy by that point and forgot to sip the top off first.

Of course, it spilled all over the bar, ughh.

I definitely received a few looks for that one, but like good sports, they just refilled it and laughed.

The Distillery

The other great part of the tasting was that you get to see exactly how they make the different spirits.

The actual distillery is on-site and fits into a normal sized room. That actually makes sense because they make every small batch the old fashioned way. And they even still bottle it by hand.

Crazyy right? Maybe that’s why it’s so freaking amazing!

Here you can see some of the ingredients they add into the base to get different liquors.

Now, we tried every liquor they offered us – which in retrospect is why we had to walk our bikes back to the hotel 😛

But my absolute favorite was the apricot flavored liquor (labeled “Abrizoken”).

The second it hit my lips I knew we’d be buying some to bring back home with us! And surprisingly at under € 19,50 we should have bought more. It has quickly become my favorite liquor!

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Tips for Visiting Wynand Fockink

Walk or be dropped off. Even if you’re used to drinking, this liquor is very strong and you’ll be glad not to bike back in crazy Amsterdam traffic.
“Proost!” means “Cheers!” in Dutch – find 25 other Dutch phrases you need to know right here
Try all the liquors first. THEN chose your favorite one(s) and keep drinking those.
Do not pick up the shot glass when it’s full to the top!
Bring your sense of humor. Our tour guide/bartender was quite sarcastic and had a great sense of humor, so you’re almost guaranteed to have a great time!
Bring a bottle (or four) back with you by checking it in!

We hope you have a great time when you visit just like we did!

Below are some extra photos from our tasting! And to book your own private tasting at Wynand Fockink, click on over to their booking site or order some online here!