Jenever  Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavored traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France and northwestern Germany. The European Union regulations specify that only liquor made in these two countries, two northern French departments and two German federal states can use the name "jenever/genever/genièvre". Gin was developed in Britain after introduction of jenever to the island. Jenever was originally produced by distilling malt wine ("moutwijn" in Dutch) to 50% ABV. Because the resulting spirit was not palatable due to the lack of refined distilling techniques (only the pot still was available), herbs were added to mask the flavour. The juniper berry (which comes from the Latin "juniperus"), hence the name "jenever" (and the English name gin), was used for its alleged medicinal benefits. There is tradition that attributes the invention of jenever to the Dutch chemist and alchemist Franciscus Sylvius de Bouve (1614-1672). However, the evidence suggests that jenever was already known and used as a medicine in the 1500s. Already by 1606 (several years before Sylvius's birth), the Dutch had levied taxes on jenever and similar liquors as alcoholic drinks, suggesting that jenever had by then stopped being considered a medicinal remedy. Furthermore, prior to Sylvius's tenth birthday, jenever appeared in Philip Massinger's 1623 play, "The Duke of Milan", which referred to the drink as "geneva". Geneva was the Anglicized name for jenever, which English soldiers had brought back with them when returning from battle in the Low Countries, first in 1587 (well before Sylvius's birth) and again during the early 1600s. Since the 1950s, Dutch flag carrier airline KLM has issued a series of Delft Blue houses modelled on buildings in the Netherlands, filled with jenever, which are presented to passengers. There are two types of jenever: "oude" (old) and "jonge" (young). This is not a matter of aging, but of distilling techniques. Around 1900, it became possible to distill a high-grade type of alcohol almost neutral in taste, independent of the origin of the spirit. A worldwide tendency for a lighter and less dominant taste, as well as lower prices, led to the development of blended whisky in Scotland, and in the Netherlands to "Jonge Jenever".