Bertha, or ‘Big Bertha’ as she was known, was a legendary Droimeann cow from Sneem in Co. Kerry. She was reared locally, and was bought as a calf by a farmer called Jerome O’Leary.
When she died on New Year’s Eve 1993, just 3 months shy of her 49th birthday, she had become something of a local celebrity. Over the course of her long life she had given birth to 39 calves, and this achievement, together with her tremendous age, had earned her an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. This fame was harnessed productively by Mr. O’Leary; Bertha became a regular at local fairs, and lead the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Sneem where she was engaged in raising money for local cancer relief charities.
Using whey alcohol from the local dairy farmers here in Cork, together with our own natural well water and an interesting mix of locally foraged and grown botanicals, we have hand-crafted a gin that highlights the character of Bertha in her prime.
“All is not butter that comes from the cow!”
And what a name!! The mere mention of it raises eyebrows, poses question, taxes the mind and brings a smile to the lips. Hurrah, our work here is nearly done!
Like any good Irish tale, the story behind our wonderful Bertha’s Revenge Gin is a tapestry of good fortune, endeavour and passion. Funnily enough, our gin took about 10 months from conception to birth, not a dissimilar length of time to the average gestation period for a cow!
Bertha’s Revenge – Perfect Serves
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Dry Martini
The Tools
Mixing glass
Long bar spoon
Cocktail strainer
Zest peeler
2 Martini glasses
Ingredients per cocktail
106.5 ml (equivalent to 3 shots) of Bertha’s Revenge Gin
30 ml of dry vermouth such as Noilly Prat or Dolin or Martini Extra Dry
Lemon zest or Green olives
Ice cubes
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Rhubarb Martini
Ingredients for rhubarb syrup
1lb caster sugar
1 pint water
1 tea spoon fresh root ginger
1 bunch (2 to 2.5lb) rhubarb (normally sold by the bunch)
Method
Boil the sugar and water to make a sugar syrup. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the chopped rhubarb (2 inches long) and grated ginger and poach gently until the rhubarb is soft.
Allow to cool for one hour and strain the rhubarb through a sieve. Decant rhubarb syrup through a funnel into a bottle and store in the fridge. It will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. It freezes really well too. |
