When it comes to alcohol, Belgium also has an intriguing line in home-grown spirits and wine

The manufacture of spirits in Belgium is not exactly widespread enough to be called an industry. In most cases, it’s more of a cottage industry compared to the volumes produced by the big distillers, and even compared to many of the breweries in the country. The major name is Filliers, which started as a farmhouse distiller until founder Karel Lodewijk Filliers bought a steam engine in 1880 to power his equipment, bringing the Industrial Revolution to the trade.

Filliers, now in the hands of fifth-generation Bernard, remains on the original site, in Bachte-Maria-Leerne in East Flanders. The company concentrates on jenever, and makes the principal ingredient, malt wine, not only for its own production but also for a number of other well-known names. The company organises distilling and tasting workshops for groups of 12 to 15.

The Belgian love of whisky dates back as far as the medieval cloth trade, when wool traders would bring the water of life together with their raw materials to the cloth halls of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres. However, Belgian production of whisky is a much more recent phenomenon. Etienne Bouillon was the first to dare, when in 2004 he had the idea of making a Scotch-style whisky at his distillery outside Liège, more used to turning out fruit-based eaux-de-vie. According to him, the Liège area has all the hallmarks of terroir to make a good Scotch (though he’s not allowed to use that title).

The resulting drink, The Belgian Owl, has been met with astonishment. The authoritative guide, Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, gave it 95.5% and placed it “head and shoulders” above rivals on the continent. The distillery now sells a 36-month single malt, both at cask strength and 46%, as well as a malt spirit aged 12 or 24 months, or not aged at all. The website helps you find a shop where you can buy some. At the time of writing, they were offering a share of a cask due to mature in three or five years, equivalent to six or 12 bottles, with prices starting at €400.

Het Anker brewery in Mechelen launched its new whisky last year when it revived the art of distilling at its premises at Blaasveld, where distilling dates back 400 years. The same malt that’s used to make the Gouden Carolus Tripel beer is repurposed to distil whisky in authentic copper stills made by Forsyth’s of Moray in Scotland, to make Gouden Carolus Single Malt.                                                   

Nobody outside a very select group knows what Mike Janssen’s whisky is like, because he hasn’t been making it for long enough to bring it to market. At the time of writing there were 33 barrels, made at the rate of one a month, in his bonded stockroom in the old distillery in Wilderen near Sint-Truiden in Limburg. After a career in brewing, Janssen bought the property because it included an old brewery and distillery that had stood silent since 1939. That was in 2007, but it took another three years to get the permissions and distilling started in July 2011. It takes three years of ageing before a spirit is allowed to call itself whisky, so the first barrel is now just about there.

Wilderen also distils a fine fragrant gin called Double You, made with 21 spices and botanicals; a grain jenever; and an eau-de-vie at a timid 32% called Eau De Bière, distilled from his Kanunnik Triple beer.

Jenever or genever is a grain alcohol made in the Netherlands, Belgium and the north of France, as well as parts of Germany. It’s considered a forerunner of gin, dating from a time when the taste of distilled malt wine was masked by herbs, most importantly the juniper berries that give the drink its name in French (genièvre) and Dutch (jeneverbes). It’s believed to date back to the 13th century, when it was taken medicinally.

In Belgium, it’s mainly made in Hasselt, home of the national jenever museum. A jenever festival takes place in October with free tastings. Other manufacturing cities include Kortrijk, Eeklo (which has its own museum), Aalst, which has Belgium’s smallest distillery, and Deinze, home of Filliers.

If you’re buying jenever, pay attention to the denominations oude (old) and jong (young). Those words don’t refer to the ageing of the spirit, but to the style: old-style is made with more malt and has more flavour, whereas the new style dating from the early years of the 20th century uses other grains and has a more neutral taste.

Péket is the name given in Liège to jenever, and means “spicy” in old Walloon dialect, although the similar-sounding “pèke” is the name given in parts of Wallonia to the juniper berry. Traditionally, the drink is sold in earthenware bottles and is much in evidence during the 15 August festivities in the Liège district of Outremeuse, and you can find more than 30 varieties in the Maison du Peket.

Grape expectations

Wine-making in Belgium has a long, if interrupted, history, thanks to large areas where soil and other conditions come together to create the perfect location for growing wine grapes. It’s said to have arrived in the Low Countries with the Romans, but it was actually during the Medieval Warm Period, of about 950 to 1250, when temperatures in northern Europe were noticeably warmer than now. Beer continued to be brewed in virtually every household, but wine was the more fashionable drink among the growing bourgeois class. As in France, vines were grown by monks and nobles alike. The dukes of Burgundy owned properties in Brussels, Leuven, Aarschot, Namur and Mons, and each had its own vineyard.

That came to an end in the 17th century, during what is known as the Little Ice Age, when temperatures dropped and became unfavourable for growing grapes. By the beginning of the 19th century, wine-making had virtually disappeared. It was revived, however, in the second half of the 20th century as new techniques and new cultivars made it possible to grow grapes – almost exclusively for white wine – in areas previously considered too cold. Belgium found room in its well-known fruit-growing areas. Five of them now enjoy an AOC – an appellation d’origine controlee – which stops anyone else using the description of the wine’s origin. They are Hageland near Leuven; Hesbaye or Haspengouw in Limburg; Heuvelland in West Flanders close to the French border; Côtes de Sambre et Meuse; and the AOC for Flemish quality sparkling wine from Flanders.

Belgium hosts one wine competition, the annual International Wine Contest in Brussels, recognised by the EU and the international wine association OIV.  More important is the annual Megavino fair in Brussels, which has grown from 14,500 visitors in 2005 to more than 27,000 visitors both public and professional last year.

The expert view

Stocking more than 100 Belgian brands is Mig’s World Wines in Brussels. Owner Miguel Saelens is more than happy to promote home-grown tipples, though the runaway success of top Belgian brands has led to many disappointed customers.

“We routinely have three people a day asking for The Belgian Owl whisky. When we do obtain some I send out a newsletter and overnight it’s sold out. I haven’t had a bottle in my shop for two years, or if I do it has a reserved label on it. It’s unbelievable.”

Saelens is such a fan of the sought-after malt, he’s bought a cask (around 300 bottles) which is maturing at the distillery. “I’m saving it for a special event or I may just take a bus there in a few years’ time with some of my best customers,” he says.

Another distillery he credits is Biercée in Hainaut province, which has specialised in eau-de-vie and liqueurs since 1946. Its flagship product is Eau de Villée, but it also makes péket and other liqueurs in its rural domain. What’s really interesting, says Saelens, “is that it is a quality product that is taking a new approach to spirits in Belgium. It’s not jenever in old bottles; the packaging is great and it keeps bringing out new products such as chocolate liqueurs, and beer and cocktails containing eau-de-vie. Its branding is very modern.” He recommends visiting The Belgian Owl and Biercée for an authentic and entertaining experience.

Once neglected but now firmly in fashion is gin, thanks to new distillers on the local scene who have come up with aromatic concoctions. Mig’s stocks three Belgian gins and Saelens has high praise for Filliers Dry Gin and Antwerp-distilled Spring Gin. With more than 40 Belgian wines in the shop, Saelens has also long been a proponent of the local grape. “The wine scene is blooming and some winemakers are now producing spirits, such as Domaine Holvast and Genoels-Elderen in Flanders.”

The pioneering Genoels-Elderen in Limburg is also an example of a domain headed by a woman, Joyce van Rennes. Another is Jeanette van der Steen of Château Bon Baron near Namur, also on Saelens’ wine list. He’s similarly impressed by Philip Grafé (Domaine de Chenoy), Herman Troch at De Kluizen, and Entre-Deux-Monts’ Martin Bacquaert. One domain overwhelmed by its success is the Domaine des Agaises, reputed for its Ruffus brand of Champagne-style sparkling wines. “I sell out of my allocation in six months and never have enough,” Saelens says. “Their Cuvée Franco Dragone Millésisme is stunning.” 

 This article was first published in The Bulletin Newcomer, Autumn 2014