Van Kleef Museum and Distillery
Slijterij/distileerderij Museum van Kleef

The last remaining Jenever distillery completely restored to its original state, offering tours and tasting from Van Gogh’s supposed favorite drinking spot in The Hague!

The hidden gem Van Kleef is the last jenever distillery in The Hague that continues to operate. What is jenever? Also spelled as genever, it translates from Dutch as “juniper”. It’s a rich, malted-grain juniper spirit that can only be made in Holland or Belgium. Some refer to it as the love child between whiskey and gin! There’s a difference between old and young jenever, and a long process to make each type. But don’t get caught up on the specifics, let Van Kleef explain it to you - or just try it for yourself! The Hague’s most important phone number: In The Hague’s first ever phone book, the top number belonged to none other than Van Kleef - no really, you just had to dial “1” to reach the distillery. The Dutch had their drinking priorities set high.

Van Kleef has been in the jenever making game since 1842, following their own traditional recipes. They unfortunately had to close their doors in 1986, due to fire hazards with the production of alcohol. It took almost 10 years and an extensive renovation for the distillery to open again, but in 1995 they once again welcomed guests into their new museum and liquor store, focused on preserving and educating people on this special Dutch alcohol. Craftsmanship, quality, and history all mix to make the perfect cocktail of a company that is Van Kleef.

Did you know? Underneath the museum are 8 alcohol cellars that can hold up to 37,000 liters of alcohol! Not for the faint of livers.

Rumor has it: It’s been said that Van Kleef was frequented by a certain famous Duth artist. That’s right: this was THE spot Van Gogh sought out for a bit of liquid courage while staying in The Hague. See what artistic inspiration comes to you while sipping jenever like Van Gogh!

A tour at Van Kleef will include:

• Details about Van Kleef’s history, and how The Hague used to stand as an important distillery city in the Netherlands.
• How-to info on the distilling process, and seeing authentic distillery equipment like the “drankorgels” - a rack that holds all the liqueurs and spirits!
• Food with your booze: Wash down that alcohol with freshly baked bread and snacks provided by the bar.
• Finally: A tasting of 6 different types of jenevers and local liquors! Try Dutch classics like Tears of The Bride, Kruide Baggah, and Kandeel.