Frisian Bitters · Herbal Spirit
Beerenburg
Photo: Iooryz / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Beerenburg started as literal packets of dried herbs an Amsterdam spice merchant sold to sailors — they'd steep the bundle in their own spirits for weeks, and only later did Frisian distillers turn it into a bottled product.
Beerenburg is a dark, bitter Dutch spirit made by macerating herbs like gentian root, juniper, and licorice in jenever or grain spirit. It's drunk ice-cold in small glasses, especially across the northern province of Friesland.
Why it's made this way: While the recipe traces back to an 18th-century Amsterdam merchant, commercial production shifted almost entirely to Frisian distilleries, making Beerenburg the north's signature spirit rather than the capital's.
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