From the Spice Island of Ambon to the Jenever heart of Schiedam
The story of Bobby's Gin begins in 1950 on the Moluccan island of Ambon: Jacobus Alfons — called Bobby by everyone who knew him — emigrated from his birthplace of Naku to the Netherlands and settled in Schiedam, the city where Jenever was invented. Bobby loved Dutch Genever, but missed the flavors of his homeland. So he began to refine his Genever with his family's Pinang Raci spice blend: lemongrass, cloves, cinnamon, cubeb pepper, coriander. Without knowing it, he had created his own gin.
Decades later, in 2012, Bobby's grandson Sebastiaan van Bokkel came across an old bottle of his grandfather's at his mother's house. Together with his brother David Blom, he set out to turn the family recipe into a market-ready product. In 2014, the two brothers officially launched Bobby's Gin — named after the grandfather who had started it all with his spice blend.
Distillery craftsmanship in Schiedam: eight botanicals, eight separate distillation processes
For production, Sebastiaan and David brought the Herman Jansen distillery on board, a family distillery in Schiedam that has been distilling spirits since 1777, making it one of the oldest of its kind in the world. Together with the distillers there, they worked on the recipe for almost two years before they were satisfied.
The philosophy behind it is consistent: all eight botanicals are distilled individually — in copper pot stills with capacities of 300 and 600 liters — so that each ingredient can unfold its full aroma profile before the distillates are combined into a blend. No additives, no sugar, no extracts. The finished gin is bottled at 42% vol. The bottle design also carries the family history: the shape is based on the classic Jenever kruik, and the zigzag pattern on the label is the traditional Indonesian Ikat motif.
East meets West — the range at a glance
The core product, Bobby's Schiedam Dry Gin, combines eight botanicals from two worlds: on the Indonesian side are lemongrass, cloves, cinnamon, and cubeb pepper; on the European side are juniper berries, coriander, fennel, and rose hips. In the glass, this reveals itself as a cool citrus opening, followed by clear juniper, warm spice notes of clove and cinnamon, and a floral, long-lasting finish with a slight peppery bite. Neat, on ice, or with a mild tonic — preferably without too many frills — the interplay of the botanicals is most evident.
In addition, there is the Pinang Raci Gin, a more intense variant that largely scales back the Western portion and focuses more on Indonesian spice cuisine: Daun Salam, galangal, turmeric, and ginger complement the lemongrass, cloves, and cubeb pepper there. For those who want to dive deeper into the aromatic world of the Moluccas, this is the next logical step after the classic.
