Bob Nolet and the Ketel One House

What are the five steps to turning a gin drinker into a vodka drinker?
Gin and vodka are very different categories. For the gin drinker who also wishes to enjoy vodka, we can easily use Ketel One to show them that vodka is one of the most exciting spirits on the back bar. The first four steps would be to highlight the vodka's fragrance, flavour, feel and finish. Based on these descriptors, Ketel One is crisp and sophisticated with a fresh fragrance, crisp flavour, silky soft mouth feel and a lively tingle to finish.

The final step would be to create a Ketel One vodka Martini, which is our signature serve. My father created the brand after witnessing the beginning of the cocktail boom in the States and he wanted to create the perfect vodka for the vodka Martini. It is the talented craftsmanship, which creates the perfect balance of fragrance and flavour in Ketel One vodka, resulting in that distinctive taste, perfect for vodka Martinis. By this point, they should be sold.
 
What makes your vodka so good?
A combination of old world craft and modern methods. Founded in Schiedham, Holland in 1691, the family distillery has been producing the highest quality white spirits across ten generations. Ketel One, created in 1983, has been inspired by over 300 years of my family's distilling tradition, expertise and savoir-faire. Ketel One is crafted from small batches, using small copper potstills, one of which is the name giver to the brand: Distilleerketel #1, and either myself or a member of my family will personally approve every production run before bottling. These 3 elements together create the unique personality of Ketel One.
                            
What do you garnish a Ketel One Martini with?
The best way to enjoy a Ketel One Martini is garnished with a twist of lemon peel, as it helps to bring out the hints of citrus you can capture when nosing Ketel One neat.

What sets Ketel One from the rest?
The combination of the unique recipe and techniques drawn from 300 years of family distilling expertise and the craftsmanship of small batch copper pot distillation that creates the personality of Ketel One vodka. As a brand, we're most concerned with making an excellent liquid over anything else.

What's your favourite vodka drink?
My personal favourite is Ketel One Citroen on the rocks but of course my other answer will be a Ketel One vodka Martini. The best way to prepare it is simple, 45mL Ketel One vodka and 15mL dry vermouth. Add the dry vermouth to an ice-filled cocktail shaker, stir the ice and vermouth, then pour off the vermouth, add the Ketel One vodka and stir. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Some people say that you should use vermouth in the Martini but we only like to use this for an initial ice rinse so as not to detract from the Ketel One taste, and we prefer to stir and not shake the vodka. To be perfectly honest I often leave out the vermouth altogether!

For a longer and refreshing drink, the Ketel One Grapefruit Julep brings to life some of the Ketel One fragrances of honey, citrus and mint, as does a Ketel One Rickey or a Bloody Mary made with Ketel One Citroen.

Who is the Ketel One drinker?
Above all, my family believes that being genuine matters. The core values of the Ketel One brand are family, genuine and craft – so the Ketel One drinker is someone who values these same qualities and who wants to drink a great tasting vodka that's good enough to drink neat. Ketel One vodka is also a favourite with the bartending community, experts who recognise a great quality product. Ketel One was introduced in the States in 1983, slowly but surely. With a loyal fraternity of bartenders and Ketel One drinkers, by 2002, Ketel One became a one million case brand in the US.

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