Welcome
This is the official website of Distilleerderij Cooymans B.V. (Distillery Cooymans) in Tilburg - the Netherlands, Dutch distillers and wine merchants established in 1828. We are well known all over the world by the perfect mix of our traditional and ultramodern production and bottling services and our corporate and private label brands of spirits, liqueurs, cream liqueurs, advocaat and fruit wines. Distillery Cooymans is officially certified by DNV in the area of food safety (HACCP) and food quality (ISO 9001). Our environmental policy and laboratory facitilies meet the highest standards.
Distillery Cooymans
April 12, 2010
Company news
Legner is now 100% jenever
Tilburg - April 12, 2010 - Last year the new EU Regulation for distilled beverages is published which replaces the old regulation of 1989. Although in the new regulation much of the product descriptions are unchanged, this regulation recognizes major changements for the Netherlands.
With this regulation an important issue is solved for the Netherlands and Belgium in particular. This concerns the minimum alcohol percentage of genever. Because The Netherlands and Belgium never succeeded an agreement before about this matter, and because of that for genever only was no legal minimum in the EU. Now the EU has declared that genever must have a minimum alcohol percentage of 30% and young and old genever a minimum of 35%. But more important is the legal recognition of jenever as geographical denomination. This means that genever (jenever, genièvre, péket) from today is allowed to be produced exclusively in the Low Lands: The Netherlands, Belgium, 2 French provinces and 2 German federal states. With this regulation genever has now a simular status like cognac, calvados and Scotch whisky which only come from their specific regions.
In the Netherlands genever ('jenever' in Dutch) is farmost the most important distilled spirit with an annual consumption of about 20 million liters. The geographical protection of genever in the Low Lands is an important recognition that genever is not only the national drink here but also marks that genever is an official typical Low Land product where the spirit traditionally is produced since its introduction centuries ago.
In the Netherlands Legner is market leader in this catagory: therefor is decided that Legner Lichte Borrel is changed as Legner 100% Jenever. At the same moment the Legner logo and label are re-vitalized.
Millwood, the secret of your smile. Downloadable brochure.
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Picture from 1939 with Cooymans liquor cases popped up
In 1939 soldiers in 's-Hertogenbosch had to report themselves for mobilisation. On the picture below you see some soldiers saying goodbye to their children in front of the Cooymans Distillery, in those days at the Koninginnelaan (Queen Avenue), all gathered around on wooden Cooymans genever and advocaat cases. In and around 's-Hertogenbosch there were some 50.000 soldiers mobilised. This picture was published in the Brabants Dagblad (the daily news paper of North-Brabant) on 22 April 2008 regarding an article about the German capture of 's-Hertogenbosch and the surrounding villages on May 12, 1940. Picture: City Archive of 's-Hertogenbosch.
Dutch couple find 70 years hidden bottles
In 1986 mr. and mrs. Geert and Elly Haegens sat down on a terrace in Rome. A discussion started with a fellow traveller who told the Heagens that she was born in the house where the Heagens live nowadays. In the house, which was property of the local Julia and Laura cole mine in Eygelshoven (NL), lived a cole mine executive. The daughter of the former inmate told that her father let disappear a number of bottles with wine and distilled spirit in his backyard soon after Second World War (1940) started, this to hide them from the German army. After the war the bottles never have been found again because they were burried by the executive's gardener, a cole mine 'readboy'. A readboy was a young cole mine worker trainee who separated the big stones from the coles and who did some additional work for cole mine executives. As the backyard measures around 400 square meters it was a waste of time to search for the pile of bottles.
However, in September 2007 when mr. Haegens started to construct a stairway and some footpaths he found the unique 'hidden' treasure in his backyard. While digging he strucked on a bottle. After removing the bottle and digging further in the South Limburgian clay (löss) a variety of another 124 bottles were discovered, among them a bottle of Cooymans. Although the corks were mouldered and the liquid has disappeared Haegens was very excited because of the rare bottle shapes and unusual colours. Some of them are very heavy, have a deep 'sole' and even wear a lead seal. There are bottles with inscriptions like Cooymans, Martini, Alken and Simons Gazeuze. Among them there is an American whiskey bottle on which the following text is stated: Federal law forbids sale or re-use of this bottle. Maybe this bottle has to do with the u.s. prohibition from 1919-1933.
Late December 2007 the Haegens contacted Distillery Cooymans about their discovery.
At Christmas Eve a representative of our company visited the site for the handover of the 'antique' bottle. In addition to this event Distillery Cooymans rewarded mr. and mrs. Haegens with a fine bottle of Millwood Premium Cream Liqueur, Legner Lichte Borrel and Cooymans Advocaat.
Former company residence of the Julia & Laura Mine (© Haegens) and the Julia colemine in
Eygelshoven which delivered the last coles on December 20, 1974 (© Paul Geilenkirchen)
Mr. Haegens posing during the big dig (© Haegens)
Mrs. Haegens is cleaning the bottles, one of them is of Cooymans (© Haegens)
The 70 year old bottle collection (© Haegens)
General news
From today Genever only from the Low Lands
New EU Regulation with geographical protection of Genever published
Schiedam, 13 February 2008 – Today the new EU Regulation for distilled beverages is published. This new regulation replaces the old regulation of 1989. Although in the new regulation much of the product descriptions are unchanged, this regulation recognizes major changements for the Netherlands.
With this regulation an important issue is solved for the Netherlands and Belgium in particular. This concerns the minimum alcohol percentage of genever. Because The Netherlands and Belgium never succeeded an agreement before about this matter, and because of that for genever only was no legal minimum in the EU. Now the EU has declared that genever must have a minimum alcohol percentage of 30% and young and old genever a minimum of 35%. But more important is the legal recognition of jenever as geographical denomination. This means that genever (jenever, genièvre, péket) from today is allowed to be produced exclusively in the Low Lands: The Netherlands, Belgium, 2 French provinces and 2 German federal states. With this regulation genever has now a simular status like cognac, calvados and Scotch whisky which only come from their specific regions.
In the Netherlands genever ('jenever' in Dutch) is farmost the most important distilled spirit with an annual consumption of about 20 million liters. The geographical protection of genever in the Low Lands is an important recognition that genever is not only the national drink here but also marks that genever is an official typical Low Land product where the spirit traditionally is produced since its introduction centuries ago.
The new regulation can be found on the website (www.pdcg.nl) of the Dutch Commission Distilled Spirits of the Beverage Productship. Dutch only.