Long-respected for their skills with jenever, the Dutch family-owned Nolet Distillery ventures into a new spiritual territory: super-premium vodka.

by Anna J. Kutor

Photo courtesy of Nolet Distillery

In the cut-throat business of booze, success is remaining competitive throughout the constant flux of trends and
innovations. The burgeoning interest in artisanal alcoholic beverages over the
past several decades has led today’s tipplers toward custom-made liquors with
historic pedigrees, small-batch distillations and super-premium spirits with
unwavering commitment to quality. These changing flavor profiles have bode well
for the Nolet family, an entrepreneurial clan who have been distilling booze in
the small Dutch town of Schiedam for over 300 years.

Liquor Lineage

The art of spirit making at the Nolet Distillery reaches back to 1691, when Joannes Nolet, a prominent burgher, set up his eponymous jevener-producing factory.That bare-brick, windmill-propelled
bastion of industrial prowess in Schiedam has been home the family-run business
ever since, passing down from father to son for ten generations.

Until the dawn of the 20th century, the distilling industry in the Rotterdam region
was a natural, as Dutch as cheese and clogs, and jenever, a strong malt-based
spirit, was the country’s liquid source of pride. Wartime austerity measures
and lingering economic hardship saw over 400 distilleries in the area fall by
the wayside, but in their wake, the go-getting Nolet Distillery found success
with a new niche product, super-premium Ketel One vodka.

Photo courtesy of Notel Distillery

This smooth-tasting spirit, perfected and
branded by Carolus Nolet Snr, current chairman and tenth-generation patriarchal
head of the company since 1979, is distilled from fermented wheat mash using
“Distilleerketel #1”, an original 19th century alembic copper kettle
(hence the name). The distillate, prepared in small batches, is filtered
through charcoal and rested in tile lined tanks waiting to be sampled and approved
for taste, aroma and clarity - a task traditionally performed by a member of
the Nolet clan. At the end of the arduous process is a crystal-clear, 80-proof
vodka that “possesses refined elegance, distinctive smoothness and
unmatched quality”.

Raising the Bar

“Loyalty is instilled by quality and quality is instilled by simplicity,” says Carolus Nolet Snr, the
67-year-old chairman. His direct and to-the-point way of thinking is mirrored
in the brand’s so-called discovery marketing strategy, which gives consumers
and influencers the thrill of discovering a something new by letting them
taste-testing Ketel One against other high-end vodkas. Part hands-on education,
part word-of-mouth buzz, this honest-to-goodness approach to advertising has
carefully and progressively cultivated strong consumer loyalty.

The proof lies at least partially in the
company’s record-breaking sales. In 1992, Carolus Snr. and Carl Jr., the two
youngest scions of the noble dynasty, introduced the Ketel One brand to
American audiences, which consequently, unleashed a tidal-wave of growth. In
the U.S. alone, the company went from selling some seven thousand nine-liter
cases in 1992 to a whopping 1,8 million cases in 2008, which accounts for 90
percent of global sales. And last year, to secure their “hottest beverage
on the block” status on the American market and tap into new revenue
streams, the Nolet Distillery set up a joint company with the Britain-based
Diageo, the world’s biggest drinks company, that works together in the exclusive,
worldwide import, sales, marketing and distribution of Ketel One. The 50
percent rights in this sales organization was sold
for $900 million (approximately €680 million). 

Alcohol trends and popular cocktail concoctions might come and go, but the Nolet
Distillery thrives regardless. By building on a strategic business acumen and
espousing a tradition that extols quality above quantity, the illustrious
company has emerged from the gauntlet of the 21th century as not only one of
the oldest lineage companies in the world but also a modern and
highly-successful Dutch spirit brand.