The Kopstoot recipe
for your table
Put the jenever in the freezer beforehand. It should be syrupy cold.
Fill the tulip-shaped shot glass until it bulges above the rim.
Pour or serve a small, cold beer alongside it.
Have the guest take the first sip of jenever without using their hands, then alternate with the beer.
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The story
The kopstoot is as old as Dutch drinking culture itself: jenever, the ancestor of gin, distilled in Schiedam since the seventeenth century, was traditionally served in a tulip-shaped glass filled to the rounded rim. Because you cannot lift such a full glass without spilling, the drinker leans forward and takes the first sip with their hands behind their back. The “stoot” of jenever followed by beer gave the duo its name. From brown cafés to modern cocktail bars, the kopstoot is Dutch heritage that you can simply order.
The right glass
A Kopstoot stands or falls with the right glassware: a tulip-shaped jenever glass of 3.5 to 5 cl, the classic 'overfilled' model, and a small pilsner glass beside it. With its narrow waist, the tulip glass keeps the jenever cold and the aromas concentrated, and overfilling it is part of the ritual. An Old Dutch roemer completes the look. You can find the flute or small beer glass that belongs beside it in our beer glasses.
Royal Leerdam Intermezzo Shot Glass 3.5 cl with Graduated Line Tuba (12 pieces)
Stella Beer Glass 25 cl - Giftbox
Together € 47,90.
The right tools
For a Kopstoot, besides the glass, you use a bar spoon for stirring and a jigger for precise measuring. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 65,85.
Variations & twists
Young and fresh or old and malty: the choice of genever determines the kopstoot. Use a craft beer instead of lager to create modern combinations. A tripel with old genever is surprisingly good. In Flanders, they drink it as a 'submarine': the glass sinks into the beer. Spectacular, but a waste of the genever. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Young genever is light and fresh, while old genever is maltier and smoother. Serve both and let guests taste them. Pour generously over the rim onto a saucer: here, spilling is not an accident but folklore.
Good to know
How to pour it above the rim
The 3.5- to 5 cl tulip glass is filled into a rounded mound above the rim, so the liquid stays in place through surface tension. Therefore, set the glass on the table or on a saucer first and only then fill it, because lifting it afterward is impossible. The genever comes straight from the freezer and is syrupy cold, which makes pouring it easier and makes the alcohol feel smoother. Pour the beer just before serving alongside it, in a flute of about 20 cl. Spilling onto the saucer is simply part of it.
How strong is a kopstoot in total
The combination adds up to more than one and a half standard drinks. The 3.5 cl of genever at 35 percent provides 1.2 cl of pure alcohol, and a 20 cl flute of lager at 5 percent adds another 1 cl. Together, that is 2.2 cl of pure alcohol, spread over 23.5 cl of liquid, which amounts to an average of about 9 percent. Because the genever is consumed in one or two sips and the beer slowly, it feels lighter than it is. Two kopstoots in an evening are already at the upper limit of what is comfortable to drink.
Kopstoot or submarine
With a kopstoot, the two glasses stand side by side and you decide the rhythm: genever first, then beer, or alternating. With the Flemish submarine, you lower the filled genever glass into the beer glass, after which everything has to be downed in one go. That creates spectacle but no flavor, because the genever disappears completely into the lager and the temperature is no longer right. In Dutch drinking culture, the submarine is therefore considered the student version. If you want to taste some of the genever, keep the glasses separate.
Young or old jenever, and which beer
Young jenever contains little malt wine and is neutral, light and grainy, making it a good match for a crisp pilsner. Old jenever contains at least 15 percent malt wine, tastes fuller and softer, and deserves a beer with more body, such as a tripel or amber beer. Korenwijn with 51 percent malt wine or more is the strongest variant and is best drunk neat. Keep the beer small: a 20 cl flute or a 25 cl small glass. A large glass turns the kopstoot into an evening-long project and takes the tension out of the combination.
Frequently asked questions
What is a kopstoot?
A kopstoot is not a mixed cocktail but a duo: a tulip-shaped shot glass with 3.5 cl of ice-cold jenever and a small glass of pilsner beside it. You take the first sip of jenever without using your hands and then alternate with the beer. The kick of jenever gave the combination its name.
Which jenever do you use for a kopstoot?
Young jenever is light, neutral and fresh; old jenever is maltier, softer and rounder in flavor. Both are valid, so it is mainly a matter of preference. Put the bottle in the freezer beforehand, because a kopstoot should be syrupy cold when it reaches the table.
Why do you take the first sip without using your hands?
Because the glass is filled to the brim above the rim. You cannot pick up such a full glass without spilling, so the drinker leans forward with their hands behind their back. It is folklore from the traditional Dutch pub, and also the most fun part of the whole ritual.
How much jenever goes into a kopstoot?
3.5 cl, poured just over the rim of a tulip-shaped jenever glass, also known as a full pourer. You also place a flute or small glass of pilsner of about 20 to 25 cl beside it. The ritual does not work without that tulip shape; see our jenever glasses.
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