Hooghoudt’s creation

The city of Groningen had barely recovered from the festivities when Hooghoudt came into existence. On 28 August 1888, people from the city and the surrounding countryside had celebrated ‘Bommen Berend’ on a large scale: this date commemorates the fact that the people of Groningen had successfully withstood the attack by the aggressive Bishop of Münster in 1672. The Siege of Groningen is still one of the highlights on the provincial calendar. A few days after the general rejoicing, Hero Jan Hooghoudt opened the doors of his distillery with a sense of pride mixed with apprehension. Customers had to go down a staircase to get there, since the shop, together with the distillery and liqueur-tasting area, was situated in a cellar on Oosterstraat. This was just the beginning.

Move to the premises on Grote Kromme Elleboog

The 27-year-old sole trader originally intended to be a baker, but his business sense told him that the manufacture and sale of sweet alcoholic beverages would be more lucrative. As the son of innkeeper Sijmen Berend Hooghoudt, who ran the picturesque ‘HoogeHuys’ inn in Slochteren, Hero Jan had grown up with liqueurs and other alcoholic drinks. After completing his training as a baker, Hero Jan lived in Amsterdam for a while, and he had kept his eyes open during that time. His commercial instinct told him that the city of Groningen would be an ideal place for him and his wife Grietje Boer to set up a business. His father helped him to find the capital to start the enterprise, and Hero Jan was able to repay him within a year. The business was so successful that the young couple exchanged the damp and dark cellar for pleasant and spacious premises on Grote Kromme Elleboog on 1 May 1889. This was a considerable improvement. The distiller worked on his delectable creations at the back of the shop, while customers could taste these liqueurs, comment on them and buy them at the front. This meant that the flavour could be adjusted immediately if wished. Hooghoudt soon became a household word in Groningen: this was definitely the place to be for delicious and original home-distilled liqueurs. The Hooghoudts were hard workers, and devoted all their time and energy to their brand-new company.

Increasing the product range

Hero Jan and Grietje were experts in thinking up specialities and distilling traditional regional beverages. They used fruit, fruit skins, stones and pips, and herbs to give their liqueurs a delicate bouquet and flavour. A number of customers even dropped in now and then for a glass of liqueur and a chat, simply because the distillery on Kromme Elleboog smelt so delicious. The famous half-and-half liqueur owed its existence to an accident: somebody added a bitter liqueur to a sweet one by mistake, but this mixture tasted wonderful! Another delectable liqueur was the ‘Fladderak’, made with lemon and other citrus fruit. But Hooghoudt mainly became well-known during the first few years as a result of his ‘Boerenjongens’, raisins in brandy, while his own version of Morello cherries in brandy was another all-time favourite. The tart cherries used in this recipe were spread out to dry on the distillery roof during hot summers. The stones were removed using a clean hairpin, which was a time-consuming business. Practically everything was still done by hand in those days.

Birth of the second generation

Business was booming for company founder Hero Jan and his wife Grietje, and they were doing well in a more personal sense too. In 1892, Grietje gave birth to a son and heir, Syne, followed by Ludolf Wietse four years later. Meanwhile, the range of Hooghoudt liqueurs was rapidly expanding. The young couple enjoyed themselves experimenting with new recipes at the back of the premises. Controlled fermentation of farinaceous plants resulted in alcohol, which the Hooghoudts used to extract the flavour from fruit, fruit skins, pips and herbs. Distillers and liqueur makers used physical and chemical processes to prepare the most delectable drinks. But the founder of the family business would be unable to enjoy his success for long.

Death of Hero Jan and liquor licence

Hero Jan died of pneumonia at the beginning of 1898. But Grietje, who also had to look after their two young sons, had no intention of throwing in the towel. She applied for a liquor licence in her own name on 28 March of that year so that she could carry on the business. Her inspiring leadership resulted in the continuing growth of the Hooghoudt company. Her son Ludolf remembered later that Grietje often suffered from headaches on Sundays, when the business was closed. She found it hard to get used to the sudden relaxation after her hectic working week. Grietje was an indefatigable worker and put new drinks such as ‘Hollandsche brandewijn’ and ‘cognac vieux’ on the market. The ‘Voorburg’ liqueur, made with orange, lemon, tangerine and sweet citrus zest, was sold in all kinds of flavours with different alcohol contents. Her grandchildren once found notes that Grietje had kept in an old recipe book: she turned out to be just as skilled a distiller as Hero Jan. The distillery became too big for the premises in 1904, which resulted in the first extension being built. Syne and Ludolf laid the first stone, which can still be seen today in the Van Erp off-licence.

Move to Nieuwe Ebbingestraat

Grietje’s business acumen gave rise to the affectionate nickname of ‘Carpenter Griet’. One of her favourite sayings was: ‘There’s always someone in the world who can produce lower-quality goods, and sell them cheaper as a result.’ But Grietje herself had no intention of resorting to such practices. She wanted top quality, and this quality can be seen in the gold medal presented to the company at a big trade fair for industry and applied art held in the city. Hooghoudt won the highest award again at a contest in Hoogezand-Sappemeer the year after, followed by even more medals and honourable mentions. The company became well-known outside Groningen too, and supplying liqueurs to off-licences and the market gradually replaced sales in the shop. Economy, hard work and quality were Grietje’s watchwords. She sent her sons to train at various trading companies so that they could gain experience. Ludolf enjoyed cultivating fruit and doing research into production and distilling methods, while Syne turned out to be a born salesman. The recipes that Ludolf noted down from 1917 on are still used as the basis for Hooghoudt’s current preparation methods. The famous orange essence and the preparation of ‘unstoned Morello cherries in brandy’ still remain jealously-guarded family secrets. By 1920, the company had once more grown too big for the premises, and Hooghoudt subsequently moved to an existing building on Nieuwe Ebbingestraat. Grietje paid 80,000 guilders – an immense sum of money in those days – to take over the ‘Het wapen van Zuid-Holland’ catering complex. The auditorium, bowling alley and hotel were converted into Hooghoudt’s new business premises, where brandy and liqueurs were manufactured. H.J. Hooghoudt & Co. was doing good business, and private sales stopped altogether after this last move. The company manufactured products for off-licences and the catering industry only, while its sales representatives combed the whole of Groningen province as well as the rest of the Netherlands for customers.

Creation of the Valencia syrup

Grietje bought the enormous building on the busy main road leading to Groningen city centre with a view to the future. During those first years, she found the complex far too big, and the purchasing costs took a heavy toll on the profits. After a great deal of experimenting, Ludolf succeeded in making an extract from Valencia oranges in 1922. The delicious zest as well as the juice served as a basis for the syrup which became the grand old man of all the Hooghoudt products: Valencia syrup. Commercial travellers who were permanently employed at Hooghoudt were given a company car bearing the Valencia emblem, and grocers also started receiving visits from Hooghoudt representatives from that time on. The Hooghoudt syrups were a popular item at grocery shops, and the company set up a warehouse in Amsterdam in order to ensure fast deliveries to customers in that region.

Birth of the third generation

Both sons married in 1926 and took over the management of the business from Grietje, who had then reached the age of 65. She moved into a house within walking distance of the company premises. Syne and his wife had no children, but Ludolf and his wife Manny had a son in 1928, whom they named Hero Jan after the founder of the business. He can still remember the production methods used in the industrial premises, which soon became too small (yet again): ‘The engine used transmission belts to get everything moving,’ he recalls. ‘There were syrup kettles for all the different flavours of Valencia, grenadine, raspberry and the famous lemon syrup, as well as the stills for making advocaat and the fruit mill for the cherries, grapes, apples and currants. Sometimes we had to use the same space for fermentation to make wine. And there was the steamer for the bottle-washing machine and for pasteurising the fruit in syrup. It was all incredibly compact.’ Truly a hive of old-fashioned activity!

Growth of the company

Each scion of the Hooghoudt family made a special contribution towards increasing the company’s turnover throughout the years. From 1952 onwards, Hero Jan worked in the research laboratory above the distillery, and turned out to be an expert taster who took part in a large number of nationwide tests. He was at the heart of the creation of the famous lemon gin flavoured with lemon zest. This liqueur is very popular due to the absence of any ‘distilling taste’.

The start of ‘Jonge Dubbele Graanjenever’

Hero Jan introduced this young double-distilled Holland gin under the name of ‘Nederlandse Kroon’ at the beginning of the 1960s. It turned out later that this was a big step towards Hooghoudt’s ultimate breakthrough on the Dutch market. The Holland gin based on a double-distilled extract of juniper berries was an immediate success.

On television

The advertisement of the Holland gin on television caused a great deal of controversy in 1968, which was a turbulent year anyway due to protest marches held by young people. This was the first time that a distillery actually advertised its products on television. It was unheard of! Hooghoudt did very well out of the ensuing debate among various authorities on the quality of the beverage, its naming, and the appropriateness of advertising alcohol on television. Sales of the Holland gin skyrocketed; instead of being relatively unknown outside Groningen Hooghoudt suddenly achieved nationwide fame, thanks to the company’s ability to manipulate news cleverly for its own ends. The charivari was a success, and the short film by filmmaker Bert Haanstra, who created a furore with his comedy Fanfare in 1958, was a true classic in the world of advertising. Hooghoudt had made history.

Creation of Kalmoes Beerenburg

In 1973, Hooghoudt introduced a new top product called Kalmoes Beerenburg, which considerably boosted the sales of Beerenburg. Hooghoudt’s own preparation method ensured that the new beverage was able to compete with this traditional herb liqueur, which originally came from the neighbouring province of Friesland. In an interview with a regional newspaper, Hero Jan joked that the Groningers had to admit that other provinces could make quite a decent Beerenburg too. This humorous remark turned the tables very nicely on the Frisians, and Hero Jan got away with it.

Hooghoudt in Amsterdam

As a follow-up to Hooghoudt’s successful tasting bar in Groningen city centre, the company opened a similar establishment in Amsterdam in 1982. This was ideally situated on one of the canals, and later on it expanded to include a restaurant. Today, it’s one of the highlights of a boat trip through Amsterdam’s canals, and your visit will finish in style with a traditional glass of Old Dutch gin. Thanks to the company’s successful introduction of new brands and flavours, as well as increased sales to off-licences and the catering industry, business at Hooghoudt started booming.

Move to larger premises

In 1985, when Hooghoudt had been established on Nieuwe Ebbingestraat for 65 years, owner-manager Hero Jan decided to take the plunge and move the company to new premises. The first pile on the industrial estate was christened by Mr Jos Staatsen, Mayor of Groningen, during a festive ceremony. It goes without saying that this ceremony was performed with a bottle of Jonge Dubbele Graanjenever! There is still a stone bottle containing 8 litres of this sublime liquor buried 20 metres under one of the piles. In August 1987, all the machines, stills and semi-finished products were transferred to the - as yet unnamed - industrial estate on the outskirts of Groningen. This was a gigantic operation which went off without any hitches, and which did not affect the manufacture of the liquors due to the fact that everything had been planned right down to the last detail.

The designation ‘Purveyor to H.M. The Queen’

The official opening of the brand-new premises coincided with Hooghoudt’s centenary celebrations. This was the first time in the past hundred years that the distillery had actually been designed on the drawing board. The shrewd introduction of automation and technical adjustments to the company structure was intended to ensure higher production and lower costs. During the reception, the then Queen’s Commissioner Henk Vonhoff announced that from now on, Hooghoudt was entitled to style itself ‘By Royal Warrant Purveyor to H.M. The Queen’. The Mayor further enhanced the celebrations by christening the street that ran past the company premises ‘Hooghoudtstraat’. This gesture served to emphasise the city’s special relationship with the company.

Hooghoudt had always been very proud of the fact that the company came from Groningen, and its Northern matter-of-factness and decisiveness fitted in well with the authorities’ efforts to promote the North. However, the famous slogan ‘Uut Grunningen’ has meanwhile been replaced by ‘Wat Holland Hooghoudt’. This new slogan emphasises the fact that Hooghoudt has now grown into a strong market leader throughout the Netherlands, in spite of its being firmly rooted in Groningen soil.

Quality development

The distillery provided considerable opportunities for further growth and even better product development and quality control right from the start. From the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s on, tasting the beverages acquired a scientific basis, partly as a result of the strengthening of ties with scientific institutes. As from that time, any employees wishing to qualify as a Hooghoudt taster first had to follow a course. The company also started distilling its own top-quality malt spirit, which in turn served as an authentic basis for the preparation of the numerous spirits derived from Holland gin. The reception room, named after sales manager Bert Smit, who was also responsible for the furnishings and fittings, was the ideal venue for drinks with visitors to conclude their guided tours of the distillery. The customer is still king at Hooghoudt.

Royalty Vodka

Like all the previous generations, Bert Hooghoudt also worked in the company for a number of years before permanently taking over the management from his father Hero Jan. After receiving training in various positions at the distillery and outside it, the time had come for Bert to take over the company management. In 1993, the 30-year-old businessman caused an uproar with his introduction of an export vodka that bore the name ‘Royalty Vodka’: yet another beverage with a purity and smoothness of flavour that no competitor could rival. This drink was also preceded by a great deal of in-depth research. Thanks to its five filterings through activated carbon, Hooghoudt’s Vodka was eminently suitable for mixing because there was no taste whatsoever in the alcohol to mar the composition. The new beverage, which was sold in an attractive blue bottle to emphasise ‘blue blood’, caused tremendous excitement at the international trade fair in Bordeaux. This daring new shoot on the Hooghoudt beverages tree demonstrated that Bert Hooghoudt was a worthy successor to his father, since Hero Jan had also been adventurous enough to create a sensation on the ‘divided’ market with his Jonge Dubbele Graanjenever in the 1960s. Exports to the United States, a number of European countries, and former Soviet Union member states got off to a flying start. In the years that followed, various vodka-based mixes were put on the market under the Royalty brand name, such as the well-known Royalty Red made with the juice of blood oranges.

The end of ‘Fladderak’?

One of the most famous of the spirits in the Hooghoudt product range lived through its ‘finest hour’ in 1997. During that summer, sales of the Groningen ‘Hoogholtje Fladderak’ reached rock bottom; only thirteen bottles of the spirit were sold in July. As a result, Bert Hooghoudt attracted publicity by announcing that the last bottles would be sold at a public auction, and that this historic beverage with lemon zest and ‘sweet oranges’ would no longer be manufactured. In view of the drop in demand, he had no choice. There was a tremendous run on the last bottles on the special ‘Fladderak Day’ on 22 October. The newspapers covered the hype, and even radio and television broadcasted reports on this phenomenon. People couldn’t get enough of the beverage, so Bert Hooghoudt cleverly decided to start up production once more. Four thousand bottles were sold during the next three months! One of Hooghoudt’s basic principles has always been to cater shrewdly to consumers’ demands.

More breadth at Hooghoudt

On Bert’s initiative, Hooghoudt started to tap the potential offered by supermarkets for the distribution of lighter alcoholic beverages under the trade name of elPicu. The distribution of these exotic liqueurs to supermarkets opened up the market to a younger target group, who haven’t the time or inclination to go all the way to an off-licence if they want something alcoholic to drink. They enjoy these sweet drinks at parties or at home. The Royalty brand was also included in the company’s drive to attract and retain a younger and more trendy group of consumers. Mixed drinks and cocktails are popular all over the world, and Hooghoudt, as a trend-setting company in the Netherlands, intended to get a slice of the pie as well. Once again, quality, individuality and original flavours are the basic principles here. ‘Consumers have become a lot more sophisticated. They’re continually on the lookout for something new and surprising. Our traditional Holland gin, Beerenburg and new Vieux provide us with the ultimate basis for responding to the current cocktail trend. Meanwhile we’ll still maintain the quality of our preparation methods in order to keep new target groups with us.’

115th anniversary

Hooghoudt celebrated its 115th anniversary by putting a special edition of Jonge Dubbele Graanjenever on the market. The company also published a booklet in which customers could write their own favourite Hooghoudt anecdotes. On the first page, Bert Hooghoudt thanks all his business partners and customers for enabling Hooghoudt to put top-quality products on the market for the past 115 years: “We could never have done it without you,” he writes. Hooghoudt concluded this festive year with a big staff party on the company premises.

A new logo and a new bottle

The new company logo was introduced in 2008. This logo serves to highlight the name of Hooghoudt, and its straight edges give it its own unique shape. Of course, the company kept the original green Hooghoudt colour. The font was chosen on purpose because it closely resembles the old logo. All products bear this logo in order to enhance the Hooghoudt brand name. The shape of the bottle, too, was designed specially for the type of drinks Hooghoudt produces.

Wat Holland Hooghoudt

Hooghoudt formulates its communication campaigns under the slogan ‘Wat Holland Hooghoudt’, which is a play on words in Dutch. The company’s communications activities express typical Dutch sentiments, our pride in our country, and our unique Dutch characteristics. They include “Wanted: ice masters” and “Hooghoudt tear-off calendar”. See www.hooghoudt.nl