De Kuyper Royal Distillers

De Kuyper have been distilling at this site on the Buitenhaven Canal in Schiedam, 6km to the west of Rotterdam, since moving here in 1910.

A lane runs through the distillery, at the front separating the offices from the still rooms housed in the single-story factory building opposite.

The office building, completed in 1911, boasts many original fittings including an impressive tiled hallway leading to the carved staircase, almost opposite the CEO's office with its Victorian walk-in safe.

De Kuyper's buildings are dwarfed by the huge O-I glass factory next door, conveniently the supplier of De Kuyper's distinctive bottles.

Attendees to events at the distillery may have been lucky enough to experience the 'speakeasy', a bar set up within one of the old boiler rooms. The historic industrial setting and the faint smell of sump oil from the old, long empty tanks make this a memorable spot and one of my personal world's best bars.

The view along the Buitenhaven Canal looking towards Nolet's windmill and the river Maas beyond.