Lucas Bols N.V. is a Dutch public company in the business of production, distribution, sales and marketing of alcoholic beverages.

[1] Its brand portfolio consists of Bols, Galliano, Vaccari, Pisang Ambon, Gold Strike and a large group of Dutch genevers and liqueurs.

By 1612 the city's walls had expanded to encompass the distillery, and the stream was dug out into a canal called the Rozengracht because of rose nurseries in the area.

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.

His era corresponded with the Dutch Golden Age, when the Netherlands were a colonial power, and led the world in international commerce.

The Dutch East India Company, of which Lucas was a major shareholder, brought exotic herbs, spices and fruits back to Amsterdam, and these were used to create new liqueurs and genevers.

A price list from 1820 shows over 300 varieties of liqueurs, bitters, elixirs and gins; it is possible that some of these were never produced, and were merely disinformation aimed at competitors.

Van 't Wout succeeded in bringing the distillery back to profitability, but by 1822 a falling out with partner Coenraad Adriaan Temminck caused him to abandon his efforts with the company.

After World War I, distilleries were started in France (1921), Poland (1922), Switzerland (1929), Canada (1932), South Africa (1933), Belgium (1934), Argentina (1935), Spain (1935) and the United States (1947).

Genever was still a large component of Bol's revenues, and this was a particularly difficult market to grow outside of its native Netherlands, as global drinkers tended to prefer the British "dry" style of gin.

A strategy of diversification through acquisition was adopted, and in 1977 Italian brands Cynar and Biancosarti, both aperitifs, were added, and in 1983 the company added its first non-alcoholic beverages with the acquisition of Terme di Crodo, makers of still and sparkling mineral waters, non-alcoholic bitters, and sodas, including Crodino, and various other fruit flavored beverages.

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.

CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm, agreed, and a management buyout by the executive board (R.van Ogtrop, M. Emondts and T. Coenen ) was engineered forming Bols Royal Distilleries.

In August 2000 an agreement was reached, and Remy paid CVC €510 million for Bols,[7] which retained a 9% equity stake in the enlarged group.

[8] The merger was perceived as greatly helping both companies, allowing Remy to diversify into products requiring no expensive aging stock, an Eastern European distribution network, and access to Bol's management skills, while giving Bols access to Remy's joint venture worldwide distribution alliance, Maxxium.

Remy reported a string of strong earnings and profit growth,[10][11] until a weakening dollar and a temporary drop in sales of Bols Vodka in Poland due to taxation and counterfeiting issues hurt 2003 results.

Results in 2004 remained weak, but strong growth was noted of the vodka brand throughout Eastern Europe, and Maxxium committed considerable resources to modernizing the Bols image, including new packaging and refocusing on a youth driven market.

On 16 March 2006, Remy announced the sale of Bols to European investment fund ABN AMRO Capital (75%), together with a management group led by Mr. Huub van Doorne (25%).

Mr. Van Doorne was a member of Rémy Cointreau's Management Board, and led the team that revitalized the Bols brand under Remy's ownership.

Bols owns brands that it has historically produced, as well as ones acquired in various stages of its evolution, either directly or through joint ventures or other partnerships.

Bols has long produced liqueurs it marketed under its own eponymous brand, going back in time to the very first products it made.

The Benelux Court of Justice held that a similarly named liquid detergent infringed due to the concept of detriment of repute.