Monique ten Kortenaar DOESN'T crowdfund a gin
For all our international fans to be, you CAN’T help us fund a gin as well. Nor support a genever. ‘Cause Otenba isn’t gin or genever. It’s both!
Wanna support Otenba without a Dutch bank account? Fill in the form below and proceed to our investment page.
Soooo… what’s distilling?
This year, distiller Monique ten Kortenaar will put her first independently produced spirit in Dutch and Japanese bars. It’s an ode to a man with equal parts of love for Japan and genever. Jacob. That ol’ man that sneakily poured himself an extra ‘borrel’ when he thought his wife and (grand)daughters weren’t looking, although Monique most definitely was.
That ode is Otenba. A sorta gin. A kinda genever.
Otenba – A spirited rebel
While our founding mother and distiller Monique inherited her insane sense of smell from her perfumer granddad Jacob, her first independently produced product hands out inheritance among juniper spirits. In Otenba, the loveable gin gets some depth from its ancestor genever. Two spirits build upon each other's strengths and similarities to create something new. That juniper lovechild is distilled with pandan, lemongrass, Sencha tea and sansho pepper. Not just to honour Jacob’s love for Asia, but to add some kindness to the outspoken characteristics of these juniper-based spirits as well. These layers are what makes Otenba work for the genever-loving bartender that likes to pour you a spiffy little bartender cocktail with extracts of Scottish raindrops and some obscure root vegetable. But it’s the gentle side of Otenba that lures the casual G&T-sipper into tasting something new and different.
Being named after the Japanese word for a rebellious woman, Otenba is here to bend the rules. Or, scratch that… we're here to break them. Where our industry often focusses on the differences between gin and genever, we felt like uniting the two for a change. Creating the juniper spirit a new generation will sneakily sip an extra sip of. Just like Jacob did.
Gin AND genever? HOW?!
Well… they have lots in common! As you might know, genever is the grandfather of gin. ‘Cause when the Brits tasted the Dutch genever, they were so into that juniperyness that they decided to make their version. And that was gin. Both spirits get their characteristic flavour profile from juniper berries. But while regulations allow genever to go either all out or more low-key with juniper flavours, gin has to have that predominant bitterness of juniper berries. And while, genever should always include a malted spirit, gin can. Otenba is both. Malted and junipery. When looking at botanicals, we’ve mixed herbs and spices that are traditionally found in gin botanicals with those often used in genever.
But what’s in Otenba?
Oh, you want to know all of our secrets? Well… you’re not gonna. But these are the most important distillates used in Otenba.
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Juniper Berry – of course.
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Coriander
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Pandan Leaves
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Sencha Tea
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Lemon Grass
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Bitter Orange
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Orange Blossom
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Sansho pepper
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Malted spirit from barley, rye and corn
As a true Amsterdammer, all of our gin & genever is distilled in good ol' 020.0.
Meet Mo
Monique, Mo for most, has been a distiller for Lucas Bols and Wynand Fockink for many years. And just like her spirit, this mom slash kickboxer slash chemist slash distiller slash lead in a rock band slash make-up artist slash ‘Nose’ is a blend of contradictions. Otenba is the first step in her mission to link spirits, people and knowledge in the bar industry. Nothing new for you, right? ‘Cause when you have the slightest interest in drinks, you probably ran into Mo at one point as she befriended pretty much every bar in Amsterdam.
Where can I have a taste?
As of summer 2020, you can sip Otenba at home or in a nice bar such as The Tailor and Taiko bar in Amsterdam. Bart’s Bottles makes sure Otenba can be delivered throughout The Netherlands.
Make this fund happen!
While Mo is rich in knowledge, she needs some financial help to kickstart Otenba. The recipe development and start-up have already been covered from equity, but to run the first full production and successfully introduce Otenba in The Netherlands, Mo needs at least € 50,000. Every euro on top of that will go to the launch of Otenba in Japan. There are two options:
1. Invest at least 100 euros or more as a linear loan that will be repaid within 7 years. You’ll support the launch of Otenba with an annual return of 3%.
Wait what? Explain me this in Plain English?
2. Thirsty? Then you can support Otenba by preordering our gin-jenever. For € 50 or more you will receive one of the first bottles of Otenba. *
Crowdfunding is so much better with some random perks, so we’ve got some merch for those who fund just that little bit extra. Socks, pins, blending sessions and anyone interested in adopting a tiger?
What we fund:
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The manufacturing of the first 1000 bottles of Otenba
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Ambassadors who’ll get Otenba in the right bars
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Sales and activations
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Campaign development. From plan to production.
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Merchandise (and tigers)
Support our crowdfunding today! It’s sorta necessary. And kinda needed.
Want more facts? We’ve got lots in our FAQ.
*Distribution will be done through a licenced partner
