Cocktail Bar · Schiedam, South Holland
Ketel One
Wheat vodka from a Dutch distilling family working since 1691.
- Founded
- 1691
- Founded by
- Nolet family
- Based in
- Schiedam, South Holland
Making it since
1691
Their story
The Nolet family, French Huguenots who settled in Schiedam in the Netherlands, have run their distillery there since 1691. Schiedam was once home to hundreds of distilleries, and the Nolets are among the few still working.
In 1979 Carolus Nolet, the tenth generation, took over and set out to make a vodka for American drinkers. Ketel One launched in 1983 at a restaurant in San Francisco and spread mostly through bartenders rather than advertising.
In 2008 the family formed a joint venture with Diageo for the brand, while keeping ownership of the Schiedam distillery.
How it's made
Ketel One is distilled from 100 percent wheat in copper pot stills, then filtered over loose charcoal and rested in tile-lined tanks. The name comes from the family's original copper pot still, Distilleerketel #1.
Why we carry them
We like that Ketel One got its American start right here in San Francisco. It is a clean, reliable vodka for martinis.
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