Lucas Bols to a stream. By 1612 the city's walls had expanded to encompass the distillery, and the stream was dug out into a canal called the because of rose nurseries in the area. Around the same time, a new stone building was constructed to house the distillery. The first official mention is in 1640 in Amsterdam town papers, where "Pieter Jacobszoon Bols" is documented as operator of "t Lootsje" on the "Rozengracht". Lucas Bols was born in 1652. His era corresponded with the Dutch golden age, when the Netherlands were a colonial power, and led the world in international commerce. The
Lucas Bols Schnapps market, along with distribution channels and production facilities in Germany. In 1989, Bols formed a joint venture with "Gedistilleerd en Wijngroep Nederland (GWN)", the wine and distilled beverages unit of Heineken, forming Bols Benelux B.V. The venture attained a near 50% market share in the Dutch liquor business, due in part to GWN's earlier acquisition of Bokma, another leading genever brand. The joint venture expanded into the rapidly growing wine segment, purchasing 85 percent of "Consortium Vinicole de Bordeaux (CVBG)", formerly part of Douwe Egberts. Other smaller French wine houses were quickly added to the portfolio. The company also