Masters of the art of distilling in Belgium for Foodies

This custom craft distillery is located on the edge of the Vorte Bossen in West Flanders. During your visit (make an appointment first), you’ll find out how owners Hildegard and Bas Van Ostaden distil gins, vermouths, jenevers, liquors and whiskies for third parties, counting famous chefs Michaël Vrijmoed and Sergio Herman among their clients. If you would like to taste some of The Bassets Craft Distillery’s creations, you can sample them with some paired dishes, since Ben and Hildegard also own restaurant De Hoppeschuur in Knesselare.

The Filliers family began distilling jenever back in 1792, when Karel Lodewijk Filliers decided to branch out from his career in farming. Five generations later, the distillery is still at the top of its game, producing a range of drinks and quality spirits including jenever, gin and whisky. Moreover, Filliers was the first distillery in Belgium to start maturing whisky and is milling, mashing and fermenting the selected grains accordingly.

A descendant of the Duvel Moortgat family of brewers, Michel Moortgat dreamt of distilling his own spirits. His chapel distillery, anchored in the avant garde tradition of the Dadaism art movement, is located in Ghent’s historic city centre. Be brave, since this bold distillery is only open to chefs, bartenders and sommeliers who are willing to take a walk on the wild side.

Wilderen features a microbrewery and a distillery installed in 2011, among other things such as a huge barn – originally built in 1743 – that has now been transformed into a tasting cafe. Furthermore, Wilderen has one of the largest intact distilleries in Western Europe predating World War I. Also, while the German army confiscated most of the copper brewing and distilling kettles in Belgium, Wilderen’s kettles somehow remained unscathed by the invaders. Perhaps they loved their Graanjenever, Eau de Bière, Wilderen Double You Gin or rare Wilderen Wild Weasel Whisky?