Plantiac is a particularly soothing brand of Dutch brandy (in Dutch called "Vieux") which, although not exactly crafted according to near-natural principles, awards the enthusiastic sipper with a smooth feeling in the throat, a pleasant feeling in the head, a warm feeling in the gullet and stomach, and no hangover to boot! Also known as 'The Divine Fluid', it has been known to make its way onto more than one (especially Dutch) Atari computer coding convention. A few people really learned to like this thanks to ST NEWS, and several bottles have been exported - to great joy and general shoutings of "yeah!" - to countries the likes of Norway, Canada, France and England. To get to the bottom of the process which is used to make this Fluid, the "Plantiac Pilgrimages" were undertaken, of which faithful (though grammatically overhauled) reports can be found on this site as well.

After we had tested - literally - just about any conceivable brand of 'vieux', Harmen Posthuma (father of ST NEWS co-conspirator and best friend Stefan) suggested we try Plantiac. We'd never heard of it before, but were hooked instantly. It's not commonly available in all the shops, which is probably why we hadn't discovered it yet. That was around mid 1988. Stefan moved to Canada later, and he confesses it's the thing he misses most about Holland.

Because of the status Plantiac acquired in the scene of people we mingled in, it was high time for some kind of tribute to The Divine Fluid, which is exactly the reason why this site was put up.

Klaas Pieter Plantinga was born on 2 July 1846 in the village of Huizum in Leeuwarderadeel (now part of the city of Leeuwarden in Friesland, the Netherlands). His father was a gardener, Pieter Klazes Plantinga (1792-1862) from Huizem, his mother was Gertje Cornelis Prosé (1823-1892) from Bergum in Tietjerkstradeel. Klaas' grandfather was Klaas Jans Plantinga (c. 1737-1809) and his grandmother was Binke Hessels (1747-1821). His great-grandfather was Jan Aukes Plantinga, his great-grandmother was Baukje Annes (dates of birth and death unknown).
In 1863, after his father's death, Klaas moved to Leeuwarden with his mother (who had then remarried) and sisters. In 1865 he left for the United States, then back to Sneek in the Netherlands, and in 1869 he once more turned out to live in Leeuwarden. In the historical year of 1870 he moved to Bolsward and took over the Syperda winery. By then he had attended a pharmacist studies, learning about herbs and spices and beverages...
It was Klaas Plantinga who first mixed Plantiac, then called Plantinga Cognac, in the former Syperda shop at Dijkstraat 7 in Bolsward, Friesland, the Netherlands.
Klaas married Ytje Keizer on 15 January 1871. She had been born in Groningen in 1851. Her father was a tailor, Gerrit Hermanus Keizer (1815-1882) from Wolvega, his mother was Margot Henriette van Duinen (1813-1903), a midwife from Loppersum. Ytje's aunt, Trijntje Hermanus Keizer, was married to Jan Reinders Wigersma. Jan was the baker who owned the shop next door (at Nr 5) to where Klaas worked. Ytje worked at the baker's as a shop girl.
In 1900 Klaas' son Gerrit Herman joined his father in the distillery. When Klaas retired in 1907 his other son Sicco joined in. Gerrit Herman's second son, Louwrens Baltus (1902-1993) took over after them.
The inventor of Plantinga Cognac died on 17 July 1921. His wife died on 3 March 1922. They had had 6 children: Pieter (21-12-1871 - 17-1-1928, emigrated to the US), Gerard Herman (7 Oct 1873 - 19 Nov 1874), Gerrit Herman (9 Jan 1876 - 30 Nov 1962), Jan Auke (21 Jan 1878 - 4 Aug 1896), Sicco Jacobus Tönnis (18-4-1881 - 22-7-1934) and Koenraad (18-9-1885 - 21-11-1959, became a pharmacist in Utrecht).

Plantinga Cognac used to be made in the Plantinga Distillery in Bolsward, the Netherlands. This facility was connected to the back of the Dijkstraat house, at Groot Zand. After World War II, in the late 1940s, a law was introduced that made it illegal to name a product 'Cognac' unless it was actually made in the Cognac area (i.e. in France). Gerrit Herman Plantinga (1931-1989), great-grandchild of the Plantinga Cognac inventor (and son of the Klaas Pieter born in 1901) thought up the name Plantiac with some student friends of his. It is a combination of the family name (Planti-) and 'cognac' (-ac). On 8 April 1971, Plantiac became a registered trademark.
Due to illness and lack of continuity, Louwrens Baltus Plantinga sold the Plantinga distillery to the Herman Jansen company (est. 1777) in 1959. When the Sonnema distillery was also bought by Herman Jansen in 1967, production for both Plantinga and Sonnema products took place at the Stoombootkade address where Plantinga had already been located. In 1972, Herman Jansen merged with the Vlek company and was renamed UTO ("Unaniem Ter Overeenstemming"). Plantiac production was moved to "De Tweelingh" distillery in Schiedam, the Netherlands. There, Plantiac was bottled about once per month. In 2005, the Plantiac brand switched ownership again, this time to Boomsma Distilleerderij/Wijnkoperij in Leeuwarden, where it is now also produced. The Stoombootkade address now became the Sonnema distillery. In March 2011, incidentally, the UTO company was renamed back to Herman Jansen.

The ingredients used for the production of Plantiac are kept secret - they are what make each type of Vieux unique. However, they are purchased from Quest International and IFF. The ingredients include fusel oil, amyl alcohols, vanilline, esters, 'blokdrop' (which may translate to 'block liquorice') and prune extract.

Some places where Plantiac has been seen for sale on the web are Van der Ende Dranken and De Slijter.com (Dutch language sites).

If you like Plantiac, check out the Facebook page!

This site would not have been quite as interesting without the help of the following people: Stefan Posthuma, Alex Crouzen, Bastiaan Plantinga, Mr van Zee (Sonnema), Gelkje Schotanus (Sonnema), Mrs Kort (UTO), Rinus van de Klooster (UTO), Riel Hettinga (Boomsma), Dez Feth (Herman Jansen) and Johan van der Weide (Boalsert KP).

You can email the author of these pages, Richard Karsmakers.
I am always looking for literally just about anything (old factory/family pictures, logos, ad material, promo material, old bottle labels, etc. etc.) that has to do with Plantiac, the old Plantinga family, or the Plantinga distillery. If you do not want to part with it, I will be quite content with photos.

This site is not sponsored by Plantinga distillery, Sonnema, UTO, Boomsma or anyone else associated previously or currently with Plantiac, Plantinga Cognac or Plantinga Beerenburg. Like any other fan page, it is not a commercial site. The logos were used without specific permission of anyone involved in the marketing, distribution or production of Plantiac. If you are an attorney paid by aforemeant noble people and they disapprove of this site, please contact me and it will be canned. Needless to say, this site wasn't put up to encourage people to consume alcohol irresponsibly. If you imbibe anything, keep a measure (Dutch: "Geniet, maar drink met mate").