Geert Conard - The face behind Double Strainger

Recently, TX Distri — one of our trusted partners — invited me to contribute an article to their magazine, which reaches both hospitality professionals and enthusiasts.
I gladly accepted, and I’m excited to share it here as well, so new followers can get a glimpse of who I am and what Double Strainger is all about.

My name is Geert Conard. By day, I work as a teacher and run my own IT and communications business, but in the world of cocktails and spirits, I’m better known as Double Strainger.

What began back in 2016 as a hobby — posting my favourite cocktail recipes on a blog and social media — quickly grew into a lively community. Today, thousands of followers experiment with my recipes, I create bespoke drinks for bars, brands and events, and I host inspiring cocktail workshops for clubs and associations.

For me, variety is key — not only in flavours and recipes, but also in glassware and presentation. The right glass adds an extra layer of experience to every cocktail or mocktail. That’s exactly why my partnership with TX Distri is such a perfect match: their wide, stylish range of glassware helps me add that extra touch of class. Maybe we’ll meet in person at one of their next open days — I’d love that!

In the meantime, here’s a refreshing summer recipe for you to try: a Limburg-inspired, alcohol-free twist on the iconic Cosmopolitan. Just shake all the ingredients with plenty of ice, strain into an elegant, hand-painted Flora coupe glass filled with fresh ice, and enjoy. 

✨ Limburg Cosmo NA ✨

• 50 ml Fryns Spice NA
• 30 ml cranberry juice
• 30 ml orange juice
• 15 ml lime juice
• 15 ml simple syrup

Shake hard. Pour with love. Sip and savour. Santé! 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Consulting unless stated otherwise in the article. While the producer or distributor might have gifted some items, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Spring Break

I have worked with Caraïbos juices before, but I was slightly intrigued when I saw this bottle of “Sex on the beach”-juice in my local liqueur store. This mixed juice is made with a puree of pineapple, cranberry, melon, peach, sugar and some acidity for balance. It’s a juice especially created to mix up easy “Sex on the beach” cocktails, by just adding 40 ml vodka to 120 ml of this juice. But that’s cutting it a bit short in my opinion.

FYI: The “Sex on the beach” cocktail is registered at the International Bartenders Association as an alcoholic cocktail containing 40 ml vodka, 20 ml peach schnapps, 40 ml fresh orange juice and 40 ml cranberry juice. 

I decided to make my variation on this classic and stay true to the story behind this drink. The original drink was invented in San Francisco in 1980 and was a real party drink during spring break. Since then several versions of the recipe have been around. 

My variation is based on Jenever and balanced to be served in a coppa- or wineglass with lots of ice. The strong fruity flavours might give you the impression that it’s a sweet drink, but after a second sip, you’ll realise that this isn’t the case. 

About the image: My wife loves to sketch and draw things, so I asked her to draw my drink.

Spring Break

Ingredients

50 ml Fryns Premium Jenever

40 ml Caraïbos “Sex on the beach” (mixed juice)

30 ml Fresh lemon juice

10 ml Simple syrup

Method

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Give it a good shake for 15 seconds and strain over fresh ice in a coppa glass or a large wine glass. Garnish with blood orange. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

When Santa had too many Cosmos (NA)

What a week… so much fun to create the seasonal drinks. Many people seem to wonder what I mixed up on Christmas Eve. My better half enjoyed a glass of Domaine du Ry d’Argent Nell Brut, a Belgian sparkling wine based on Pinot Auxerrois, Chardonnay and Johanniter. I had a Negroni Sbagliato with that same bubbly. For my daughter (she’s 11), I created a non-alcoholic variation of the Cosmopolitan. That might sound easier than it is. But the result was a real winner and my fashionista daughter absolutely loved this SATC-style drink. 

What’s the tricky part? You need a good base for your drink. A product with some body and a strong tail. That’s usually where drinks like this fail. I was happy to find something that works because that body and tail are really the difference between a soft drink and a mocktail. 

Fryns Spice is a non-alcoholic aperitif based on ginger, lemon, lime and red pepper. Those strong and natural flavours are a good base for a tasty mocktail. 

From the original recipe, I swapped Cointreau for orange juice. But since the juice was of course less sweet than a liqueur, I also added a tiny bit of simple syrup. 

When Santa had too many Cosmos (NA)

Ingredients

50 ml Fryns Spice 0%

30 ml Orange juice

30 ml Cranberry juice

15 ml Lime juice

7 ml Simple syrup

Method

Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake hard for 15 seconds. Fine strain (that’s a must!!!) in a Martini glass. You could garnish with a lemon or orange twist, but it’s not absolutely necessary. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Santa's Cosmo

Let’s start with unplugging one of the world’s largest clichés. The Cosmopolitan is not a drink that’s only suitable for single young women.

When prepared as it should, it’s a very nice sour-style alternative for a Martini. I’m not a single young woman and I do like a good Cosmo. 

So, what’s wrong with Cosmo’s? In many bars they use a recipe which is a bit too sweet. This destroys the balance and gives you a sticky drink that’s not how it’s meant to be. I don't like drinks that taste like a lollipop. 

Let’s try this variation with an extra layer of malty flavours. Less sweet in the glass, but with a sugar rim instead to compensate. It was an experiment, but I really loved the result. 

P.S. Next on my TO DO list: I want to re-create this drink, but without alcohol. To be continued.

Santa’s Cosmo

Ingredients

50 ml Genever (I used Fryns Premium)

30 ml Cointreau or Triple Sec

30 ml Cranberry juice

15 ml Fresh lime juice

Method

1. Gently rub some simple syrup on the rim of your Martini glass. Dip in sugar candy.

2. Add all ingredients to your shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 15 seconds. 

3. Strain your drink in the glass.

4. Optional/advanced: Cut a piece of orange peel, give it a firm twist over your glass to spray some of the oils from the peel over your drink, add the peel to your glass.

If you feel really confident: Hold a lighted match between the peel and the drink while releasing those oils. This will warm up the oils to make them even more flavourful. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Italian Winter Spritz

For this Christmas season, I wanted to mix a couple of variations on the Negroni. And because it’s a festive season, I wanted these drinks to be slightly more challenging than what you normally see on this blog. 

The mission of this blog is to share easy, but tasty recipes. Simple cocktails that you can reproduce at home. Does this mean I never mix up a more advanced drink? Of course not, but those drinks are not what this blog is all about. 

But just maybe, you would love a more advanced drink for the Christmas holidays? If that’s the case, I’ll share one of my recent favourites with you… six ingredients, but still pretty easy to mix. It’s so tasty, you might even decide to serve it as a punch. Not festive enough?
Replace the tonic with a good quality Prosecco… solved. 

Italian Winter Spritz

Ingredients

25 ml Italian red bitter (I used Caffo Mazzodi L’Aperitivo Italiano)

25 ml Sweet vermouth (I used Cinzano)

25 ml Genever (I used Fryns Premium)

20 ml Fresh lemon juice

10 ml Simple Syrup

Schweppes Indian Tonic.

Method

Add all ingredients, except for the tonic, to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake for 15 seconds and strain it into your favourite cocktail glass. Add lots of ice and top with a good quality tonic. Give it one more stir and garnish with a slice of lemon. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

The story of Fryns (+foodpairing!)

I’m always a sucker for a good story with an unexpected plot twist. Last week I was invited by Céleste Fryns, to visit the Fryns distillery in Hasselt. Fryns is an iconic brand, started in 1887. It was Guillaume Fryns who started a genever distillery in a building called “In ‘t Claverblad” in Hasselt, very close to the governor's building. Today, the clover image, which was present on that original building, is still the company logo.  

When Guillaume passed away, his sons Guillaume Jr. and Jules continued the activities. Guillaume Jr. added a malt- and ice factory and they also expanded with sales offices in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Mons. These were the early days of logistics, driving their lorries for three days to get enough bottles to the sales offices. They spend lots of time creating great packaging and POP materials, to sell attractive products during the roaring twenties. 

During the second World War activities ceased because Jules refused to work with the Nazis. After 1945, he started rebuilding the company. The Fryns company kept innovating and was the first company to launch longdrinks and pre-mix cocktails. 

In 1979 the company was acquired by investors, who quickly shift it to Bruggeman, a large holding specialising in spirits and owned by the even larger group La Martiniquaise Bardinet. Later this group also acquired another genever brand, Smeets. A new plant was built near the ringway, but the Fryns brand moved to the Bruggeman HQ in Ghent. This was almost the end of a great story because Bruggeman marketed Smeets as their primary brand for ‘Hasseltse Jenever’. 

But blood is thicker than water. In 2017, Michel Fryns saw the opportunity to buy the bankrupt “Graanstokerij Wissels” and re-build the distillery on Hasselt soil. Soon after this event, he succeeded in acquiring the brand name from Bruggeman and he brought the company back to its roots. After 25 years Fryns is home again. Important fact: If you want to market your spirit as “Hasseltse Jenever”, the malt wine needs to be distilled on Hasselt soil. This is a protected origin.

In 2021, Céleste Fryns, fifth generation, joined the company. They now have a great dream to get Fryns and “Hasseltse Jenever” back on the map. They market genever as a versatile, tasty and Belgian top product. 

Genever has a public image which you might compare with Tequila. Everyone has this “mental image” of drinking these spirits as a shot. In the case of genever, it’s a shot often drunk by old men. But just like Tequila, this is also a fantastic spirit that can be used as a base for many delicious cocktails. For starters, in every cocktail that contains gin, you can replace the gin with genever. It will add an extra, extremely tasty layer… because of the malt wine, used in the production of genever. 

So yes, I also want to promote mixed drinks with genever and in the next weeks, months or even years you will see several mixed drinks with genever popping up on this blog. 

But for this article, I did something completely different. I remembered an old tradition, I picked up during my travels in Scandinavia. I served a bowl of freshly cooked soup of Belgian endives (Chicon/witloof), with a shot of Fryns Premium Jenever on the side. A match made in heaven. You can find the recipe for the soup on my better half’s foodblog, Tineke’s Cucina. 

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.