If you ask Sebastiaan and David about their grandfather Bobby Alfons, they will tell the story of how he emigrated to the Netherlands and truly missed the flavors of his birthplace Naku on Moluccan ‘spice island’ Ambon. Sebastiaan: “I remember the good inspiring days at grandfather Bobby’s house, filled with family and laughter, the aromas of spices like lemongrass, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, and cubeb peppers enchanting the room —the botanicals he used to infuse his Dutch jenever.”

Fast forward 2/3 decades in time, the grandsons felt it was time to explore their family tradition and specifically grandfather’s traditional spice blend, his Pinang Raci.

Sebastiaan: “I started my professional career in the beverage industry, but I needed to go my own way. I was ready to create something different, something exciting and something from the heart. My mother and I connected the dots, and during a long discussion at the dinner table she suggested: “What about grandfather Bobby’s recipe?”.

With the help of the entire family, we recovered and reconstructed the recipe to grandfather Bobby’s family tradition and Pinang Raci recipe of infusing jenever with a mismash of spices. In the end, aunt Betty recalled the mishmash of Indonesian spices. This is where the grandsons’ journey to create Bobby’s Gin started.

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