The art of distillation has been passed down from father to son for generations. We still make our gins and genevers the very same way as our founder, Simon Rutte, did in 1872 from the small back room in our Dordrecht distillery: with love, by hand.
During that time you could find a café in front of the distillery. The churchgoers of the Catholic church in the city centre often dropped by after mass to enjoy a drink in Simon’s Doorloopcafé. It wasn’t before long that he let them taste his own creations. And successfully so, because this was the start of the five generations who have turned the S.A. Rutte & Zn. distillery into a household name in Dordrecht and beyond.
During the following years, the café was turned into a wine shop, where Simon’s wife sold the drinks. Between 1903 and 1905, Simon installed a special façade against the building in Vriesestraat, which can still be admired today. Art Nouveau was ‘modern’ and by replacing the old, classic façade, the shop suddenly entered the 20th century, pulling in customers.
You can still find the biggest collection of Rutte products at the Vriesestraat, bigger then everywhere else. Besides our own creations we also sell a big range of cocktail tools and other Rutte merchandise.
The shop is open form Monday till Saturday, between 10.00 and 17.00 hours.