Improved Holland Gin Cocktail

While today most anything a bartender stirs or shakes is referred to as a “cocktail,” in the 19th century the word had a precise meaning. A cocktail, by definition, was composed of a spirit, bitters, sugar and water, the last generally in the form of ice. During this nascent era of mixed drinks the legendary Jerry Thomas—considered by many to be the forefather of modern bartending—was among the first to record recipes and separate them into various categories. One such category was known as the Improved Cocktail, and among those was the Improved Holland Gin Cocktail.

These categories were loose, according to bartending historian and writer David Wondrich in his book on Jerry Thomas, “Imbibe!” However, in it Wondrich classifies the Improved Cocktail as including a spirit, simple syrup, maraschino liqueur, bitters and, crucially, absinthe. Though Wondrich’s consolidation of the varied “improved” recipes includes maraschino as a core ingredient, other versions of the recipe call for orange curaçao, instead.

The Improved Holland Gin Cocktail uses genever, sometimes referred to as Holland or Dutch gin, as its base. The predecessor to modern gins, genever is made with a distilled malt wine and then distilled again with juniper berries. Generally, it’s a richer, darker spirit than a London dry gin, and less prevalent in modern drinks.

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When making Jerry Thomas’ version of the Improved Holland Gin Cocktail, the most notable brand of genever is Bols. The company has been making the spirit since the 17th century, and today it continues to be an exemplar of the style. The brand produces three distinct styles of genever, including an aged version and a 100%-malt version, but the best one to go with is the original. However, Bols has competition, with many Dutch brands as well as distillers in the United States and other countries crafting their own takes on the historic spirit.

Another aspect to the drink is its proportions: Besides the genever, all the ingredients in the cocktail are listed as dashes. Traditionally, a dash is somewhere around 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon, so if you don’t have bottle tops that allow for dashes of things like curaçao or absinthe, you can use measuring spoons. This also means that the quality of the drink relies on the genever used, with the other ingredients playing more of a background role.