The House of Bols is a cocktail and genever experience in Amsterdam about Lucas Bols, the oldest distilled spirit brand in the world which has been running since 1575.
The House of Bols is located in a row of houses on Paulus Potterstraat which is directly opposite the Museumplein square.
The experience is essentially an interactive museum which offers a free audio tour through a number of exhibit rooms and ends in the bar area where you get one free cocktail. The audio guide is available in 5 languages: English, Dutch, French, German and Spanish.
The museum rooms include:
- Introduction to Luca Bols, Bols Liquers and Genever
- Bols-KLM room showing a collection of the KLM Delft Blue Houses. These are replicas of special buildings and monuments in the Netherlands and have been given to KLM First Class and then World Business Class passengers since 1952. From 1986 they have contained Bols Young Genever.
- Hall of Taste – Perhaps the most fascinating part of the tour is to test your sense of smell with dozens of colourful flavours.
- Ingredient Room – Discover the ingredients that make up genever.
- History Room – Learn about the traditional processes of percolation, maceration and distillation.
- Genever Room – An insight into the history of Dutch genever.
The exhibition is very well designed/presented and labelling is in Dutch and English.
Depending on how engaged you are with the interactive elements, the tour can take anything from 20-45 minutes. At the end you can get your free cocktail at the Mirror bar mixed by one of the bartenders – though note there is limited seating in the bar area.
If you are a gin and cocktail lover then the House of Bols in Amsterdam could certainly be worth a visit. If you have further interest you can also take part in a cocktail workshop or group tasting sessions.
House of Bols Essential Info
| Opening Times | Daily 1300-1830 (Sun-Thu), 1300-2100 (Fri-Sat). |
| Admission Prices (2024) | €17.50 for adults, minimum age for entrance is 18. Book House of Bols tickets here Or consider the GO City Amsterdam All-Inclusive Pass which offers free entry to the House of Bols Cocktail & Genever Experience. |
| Getting There | House of Bols is a 10 minute walk from Leidseplein. From Amsterdam Central, trams 2 and 12 stop at the nearby Rijksmuseum; or take metro line 52 to Vijzelgracht station which is about 7 mins walk away; from Amsterdam Zuid, take tram 5; from Amsterdam Sloterdijk take tram 19 to Spiegelgracht stop; from Schiphol airport, bus 397 also stops at the Rijksmuseum. |
House of Bols, Paulus Potterstraat 14, 1071 CZ Amsterdam
T: +31(0)20 570 8575, bols.com
Last updated 24 January 2024. This article was first published in June 2023.
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