Ketel One

17th century

Ketel One is produced by the Nolet Distillery in Schiedam, Netherlands.[3] The Nolet Distillery was founded in 1691 by the Nolet family, French Huguenot refugees, and has remained in the Nolet family ever since.[3] Ketel One is so named for the original coal-fired copper still that was used to distill it, Distilleerketel #1.[3]

18th century

In 1794, a windmill known as "the Whale" was built on the property.[3] In 1867 the family began to focus on exporting their products.[3]

19th century

The town of Schiedam has long been known for the alcohol industry.[4] By the end of the 19th century the town boasted over 400 distilleries.[4]

20th century

The Nolet Family opened a distillery in the United States in 1902[5] and sold vodka under the Imperial Eagle Vodka brand name.[4] Nolet were forced to close it during the prohibition era,[3] with Joannes Nolet forced to flee the country.[4]

The distillery industry in Schiedam was hit hard by World War II, and by the end of the war only 40 distilleries were left.[4] Within the next few years changes in technology and consolidations and mergers left Nolet as the only distillery still operating in Schiedam.[4]

When Carolus Nolet (1941–),[6] the tenth generation of the family to own the company, took over for his father in 1979,[7] the company made a wide range of spirits.[4] He made the decision to focus on one product, and make it the best it could be. The company began producing jenever exclusively.[4] Ketel 1 Jenever quickly became the best selling Jenever brand in the Netherlands.[4] At that point the company began to look at returning to the United States market.[4] Carolus began to develop a vodka designed specially for the American market, focusing on quality.[4]

Nolet returned to the U.S. market in 1983,[3] launching Ketel One Vodka in San Francisco at the BIX Restaurant and Supper Club.[4] Rather than advertising directly to consumers, the company encouraged bartenders and distributors to sell their product.[4] In 1991 Carl Nolet Jr. moved to the U.S. and founded Nolet Spirits USA.[3] Between 2000 and 2010 the company released two flavored vodkas, Ketel One Citroen and Ketel One Oranje.[3]

Sales of Ketel One increased from 7,000 cases in 1992–1993 to 250,000 cases worldwide in 1997.[5]

21st century

Ketel One reached sales of one million cases worldwide in 2002.[5] In 2003 the company launched its first advertising campaign, thanking Ketel One drinkers.[5] By 2008 the company was selling close to two million cases per year.[8]

In 2008, Diageo announced an investment of $900 million in a joint venture with the owners of Ketel One, with the Nolet family continuing ownership of the distillery in Schiedam.[9]

In 2009 the brand attracted attention for its first television commercials, which seemed "tailor-made" for the post-Great Recession economy.[10] Despite being sold in 25 countries, up until 2008 the United States was the only country where the company advertised.[8]

In 2014, The New York Times cited the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index as having the Ketel One brand at number 2, behind only Grey Goose among vodkas.[11]