CHAIR

Myriam Hendrickx

Myriam Hendrickx studied Food Engineering in the Netherlands and started her career in training and consultancy, authoring numerous educational books for the food industry. Through this work she gained broad insight into the Dutch food sector, including spirits, a field that particularly captured her interest because of its unique combination of craftsmanship, history and innovation.

Since 2003, Myriam has been with Rutte Distillery, where she led the modernization and development of the company while preserving its rich heritage of more than 150 years. She created numerous gins, jenevers and liqueurs, always staying true to traditional principles and making full use of the flavour's nature provides.

As a botanical distiller, her passion lies in extracting the best flavour's from botanicals and combining them into products with perfect balance in aroma, taste and mouthfeel.

In 2011, Rutte became part of De Kuyper Royal Distillers, a family-owned company founded in 1695 and today one of the world's leading cocktail liqueur producers. With distribution in markets across the globe and a strong focus on bartender culture and cocktail innovation. As Master Distiller for De Kuyper, Myriam leads R&D activities, focusing on innovation across liqueurs and cocktail solutions. She has played a key role in the development of numerous products, including ready-to-mix, ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic concepts.

With a strong foundation in both sensory evaluation and food technology, Myriam combines creativity with technical expertise. Her work extends beyond flavor alone, covering aspects such as stability, microbiology, foam and mouthfeel. She sees the spirits industry as a constantly evolving field where tradition and innovation continue to create exciting opportunities.

Besides the managing and R&D work for Rutte and De Kuyper, Myriam gives guest lectures at hotel managements universities and courses for drinks and gastronomy. She’s part of several international spirit jury’s and is the chairperson for the ISC liqueur panel.

JUDGES FROM 2026

LEFT TO RIGHT: Pauline Giraudeau, Giffard Liqueurs; Matthias Ingelmann, Parafante Liqueurs; Myriam Hendrickx, De Kuyper; Sara Jane Eichler, Freelance Drinks Consultant; Angela van den Boogaard, Freelance Drinks Consultant;