Brandy
Brandy is a clear distilled spirit that has been drunk in the Netherlands for centuries. Neat as a digestif, with lemon or anise, or for preserving fruit. Here you can read what brandy is, what types there are and how to drink it.
Brandy from well-known Dutch brands
Brandy is on the shelf next to jenever and fruit jenever. Two of these brands also have their own page on glazen.nl.
Boomsma
The distillery from Leeuwarden makes Hagel & Donder, an anise brandy made with Egyptian anise.
About Boomsma →
Burned wine, and where brandy comes from
The word brandewijn means burned wine: wine that has been distilled. From the sixteenth century onward, Dutch merchants bought a great deal of wine and distilled wine in French regions such as Cognac and Armagnac. The Dutch word brandewijn later gave rise to the English word brandy.
The brandy you buy in a Dutch liquor store today is different from brandy or cognac. It is a clear spirit, usually with a mild, fairly neutral flavor. You drink it neat, with a flavor such as lemon or anise, or use it in cooking. Inmaakbrandy is well known: it is used to make boerenjongens (raisins in brandy) and boerenmeisjes (apricots in brandy).
In short
Neat, lemon, anise and preserving
Gall & Gall sells 5 types of brandy, all in a one-liter bottle. These are them.
Mispelblom Brandy
Brandy with a pure flavor. Good for mixing, for example with lemon juice and soda water, or in mulled wine and hot cider.
Gorter Preserving Brandy
Intended for preserving fruit: boerenjongens, boerenmeisjes or advocaat. With a vanilla aroma. Also drunk neat or with cola.
De Kuyper Lemon Brandy
Brandy with lemon. According to the maker, distilled in copper stills and then aged for at least a year.
Jansen & Wouterlood Lemon Brandy
A mild lemon brandy with a lower alcohol percentage. Neat or mixed.
Boomsma Hagel & Donder
Anise brandy, infused with Egyptian anise. The name refers to the sound produced during distillation.
Brandy is distilled from wine and aged in wooden barrels. Read about the difference on our brandy page.
Mild, clear and often flavored
Fresh or spicy
Pure brandy smells mild and clean. Lemon brandy smells fresh, like lemon peel, while anise brandy clearly smells of anise.
Soft
Softer than genever, especially varieties with 20 to 25% alcohol. The lemon varieties are lightly sweet.
Short
A short, clean finish. With anise brandy, the anise lingers for a while.
Flavor profile of a lemon brandy at around 25%. Pure brandy is more neutral and stronger; anise brandy scores higher on spiciness.
Three ways to drink brandy
You drink brandy just like genever: cold and neat from a small glass. But you can also mix it or preserve fruit with it.
Neat and cold
Put the bottle in the refrigerator or freezer and pour a shot glass full. Lemon brandy is especially good this way.
Glass: shot glass →With sparkling water or cola
Pour 4 cl of brandy into a highball glass with ice, add a splash of lemon juice and top up with sparkling water. Or keep it simple with cola.
About cola →Making boerenjongens
Briefly cook raisins with water and sugar, put them in a clean jar and top up with preserving brandy. Leave it for a few weeks. With apricots, it is called boerenmeisjes.
Make it yourself too: advocaat →Cocktails and hot drinks with brandy
Brandy has a mild flavor, which makes it suitable for many recipes that normally use gin or brandy.
Tom Collins
Lemon, sugar and sparkling water. Using lemon brandy instead of gin makes it milder.
Hot Toddy
Honey, lemon and hot water, with a splash of brandy instead of whiskey.
Sangria
Red wine, fruit and a splash of spirits. A little brandy works well in it.The right glass for brandy
A small shot glass for serving straight and chilled, and a long drink glass when mixing. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about brandewijn
Can't find your question here? Read more about jenever or check out our cocktail recipes.
To jenever →What is brandewijn?
What is the difference between brandewijn and brandy?
How much alcohol is in brandy?
Which brandy do you use for boerenjongens?
How do you drink brandy?
Which glass do you use for brandy?
Buy brandy
Want the bottle at home right away? Order brandy online from Gall & Gall. Gall & Gall has 5.
Prices as of October 9, 2026, as provided by Gall & Gall. You can see the current price and stock at Gall & Gall. Glazen.nl receives a small commission if you buy something through these links; you pay nothing extra. No under 18s, no alcohol.