Bertha's Revenge Gin

Autumn tipples - Bertha's Revenge Crab Apple Gin Liqueur

Crab apples are attractive to look at, but those rosy ripe skin hues hide a flesh that can be wincingly sour. We age our fruit with Bertha's Revenge Irish Milk Gin for a number of months, and then filter before adding some local honey, jaggery cane sugar syrup and cloves prior to bottling. The crab apples are supplied by our friend David Keane, an apple grower from nearby Cappoquin. His crab apple trees are excellent pollinators for his apple orchards due to the long flowering time. Some of the crab apples also come from our own gardens at Ballyvolane House.

Jump on the link for more information and to buy online:
https://ballyvolanespirits.ie/news/2022-02-15-berthas-revenge-crab-apple-gin-liqueur/

Negroni Week runs from 16th to 22nd September and we will be mixing and sipping Negronis and variations thereof all this week.

History of The Negroni
The story goes that it was first served at Caffe Casoni in Florence, Italy in 1919. Count Camillo Negroni asked his pal the bartender Forsco Scarselli to spike his favourite tipple, the Americano, by replacing the soda water with gin. Scarselli added an orange garnish, rather than the traditional lemon that accompanies an Americano. The drink was an instant hit and soon afterwards, all the punters who came into the bar were asking for the Americano “the Negroni way”. In time, it became The Negroni.

Jump on the link to view the recipe for a Bertha Negroni

https://ballyvolanespirits.ie/news/2016-08-12-the-negroni/

Goodbye summer, roll on the autumn. Our swallows departed on Monday morning on their epic migration to southern Africa and the skies above Ballyvolane House are much quieter now. The mornings are chilly and to us autumn means sloes and crab apples.

Sloe Bertha - a warming tipple made by infusing wild and cultivated sloe berries with Bertha’s Revenge Gin. We steep them in Bertha’s Revenge Gin for several months and then add sugar syrup at the end to sweeten. A bit like a good dog, Sloe Bertha is a welcome companion when taking to the great outdoors over the winter. A few sips of Sloe Bertha will renew flagging enthusiasm when cold, wet and watching a match from the sidelines. Equally, it will serve to gird the loins when facing the final hill of the day. Away from the sporting field, Sloe Bertha is a key ingredient in our Hedgerow Martini.

We also serve Sloe Bertha with the cheeseboard at Ballyvolane House and is the perfect substitute to port.

Sloe Bertha has won numerous awards including the World Gin Awards Best Irish Sloe Gin - Country Winner as well as Gold in the Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards.

Jump on the link below to shop Bertha online.

https://shop.ballyvolanespirits.ie/

Newstalk's Tom Dunne interviews Justin about the life and history Big Bertha the world's oldest cow for the Moncrieff Show.

Who was Big Bertha the cow?
Big Bertha was a Droimeann cow who held two Guinness World Records. She was so famous that after her death a wake was held in the town of Sneem in Co. Kerry. Turtle Bunbury Histories stumbled upon Bertha's wake in 1993 and subsequently wrote about it for the Guardian newspaper.

Thanks Tom, it was such fun chatting about the story of this remarkable creature.

Droimeann Cattle Society

To listen back, jump on the link below:

https://link.goloudplayer.com/s/pGuti754TqOc

Looking forward to tomorrow 12noon to 4pm.
Lovely mention in today’s by .
The weather is looking great 😊
Hope to see you there!

Craicly Stories and House (the home of Bertha's Revenge Gin) as part of Feast - East Cork Food & Drink Festival will be hosting a storytelling event on Thursday 5th September celebrating “Our East Cork Food Rebels."

By definition, a rebel spirit (and Cork is famous for them!) is willing to take risks and hold true to their passions and beliefs. At this event we will hear some of the human stories behind their important work.

We are delighted to have Rory O'Connell, Christopher Braganza AKA Spice Genie Barry Fitzgerald from Fitzgeralds Butchers and Mary Sharpe from Irish Gourmet Butter (other speakers tbc).

The event will kick-off at 7.30pm and on arrival guests will be served a complimentary B&T which will be followed by a casual 2-course fork supper in the house. After supper, the speakers will be introduced by Craicly Stories founder and curator Jane Gormley and the speakers will take the floor. The storytelling will last around an hour.

We hope you will join us. Jump on the link for more details and to book tickets.

https://ballyvolanehouse.ie/news/2024-07-08-craicly-stories-on-thursday-5th-september-2024-part-of-feast-east-cork-food-drink-festival

Bertha, feted as the oldest cow in Ireland and renowned for producing 39 calves, Kerry’s most famous cow ‘Big Bertha’ has also been celebrated in verse.

The epic poem centres upon Big Bertha’s achievements and accomplishments, recounting her story from when she was bought on St Patrick’s Day at a cattle fair in Sneem by farmer Jerome O’Leary, to the time when she acquired her celebrity status.

“She’s a member of the Droimeann breed,

A breed that’s true and broad,

A breed that’s nearly rarer than the dinosaurs of old.

People call to see her from Galway to Kildare

And on next Easter Monday there’s a crowd going down from Clare.”

Droimeanns are a very hardy breed and are easy calvers. Like Justin and Antony, their temperament is usually very placid and they are also regarded as highly intelligent.

We are bringing her back in spirit...literally!

Justin will be heading down to All Together Now at the majestic Curraghmore this coming Sunday, 4th August to participate in the chaos that is Grub Circus. Ring Master Joe McNamee has assembled an incredible line-up of delicious events and characters throughout the weekend. One of the highlights of the year. Can't wait. Hope to see you there!

Bertha Rhubarb Mule

Summer in a glass and this cocktail is a variation of the famous Moscow Mule. The Rhubarb Mule is a long cocktail we mix at Ballyvolane House e during the spring and summer months. Perfect for garden parties, weddings and sundowners. The ginger beer gives it a fragrant and spicy quality that we love. The ginger and rhubarb work brilliantly together.

Click on our Bio, then Cocktails to view the recipe.

Wishing Niall O'Leary from Castlelyons GAA Club and his teammates on the Cork hurling team the best of Bertha luck as they take on Clare in the All Ireland Hurling Final this Sunday.

Happy happy 4th July to all our friends in the USA 🇺🇸.

Raising a glass to you all 🍸🐄.

Lots of love,

Justin, Antony and Big Bertha

Cute Bertha wedding favours at a magical wedding at last weekend. Huge thanks to the bride & groom for gifting their guests a Bertha mini. Congratulations M & P!

🐄☘️🍸💍

Busy busy couple of weeks in the distillery. Orders coming in thick and fast. Looking forward to a few Bertha cocktails this weekend.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Here is some fantastic video footage from the RTE archives celebrating Big Bertha's 39th calf. It dates back to 1986. Big Bertha, her calf and Jerome O'Leary (Bertha's owner) all star in the video.

Jump on the link to view the video.

Happy Father's Day!

We hope you all get to spend some time with your dads today. Also, a time to cherish the memories of dad's no longer with us.

Love from,

Justin & Antony and Bertha

Happy World Gin Day!

Lots of fantastic Bertha cocktail ideas on our bio.

Father's Day is on Sunday, 16th June 2024. Check out our fantastic Father's Day Gift Boxes on our online shop.

Head over to the link to shop Gift Boxes online.

https://shop.ballyvolanespirits.ie/

Have a wonderful weekend!

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. If you haven’t already done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin - make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position. Enjoy the flight!” Now, on with the cocktail…

Aviation Cocktail is one of the oldest gin drinks and pre-dates prohibition in the US. It has a gorgeous light purple colour and is a wonderful expression of Bertha with crispy, citrus and sweet notes. The cocktail has evolved over the years and it was originally created in the early 20th century by Hugo R Ensslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallick in New York. The Aviation cocktail celebrated the first aviators from the late 19th century who were the rock stars of their time.

Click on the link to view the recipe: https://ballyvolanespirits.ie/news/2021-02-01-aviation-cocktail/

Grass to glass

🐄☘️🍸

Come and stay at our home in East Cork this weekend and cross the county line into West Waterford as the kicks-off this Friday, 19th April and runs all weekend until Sunday, 21st April. We are on the border of Cork and Waterford. There is an impressive and delicious array of events planned including dining experiences, picnic river cruises, demos and talks, health and well-being events and markets in Dungarvan.

Justin along with a selection of esteemed local artisan producers will be sharing their stories at the event at Salterbridge House on Saturday night. CRAICLY, founded and curated by Jane Gormley, is a unique, storytelling group that pops up in lovely, unusual venues all over Ireland. CRAICLY uses storytelling, and the sharing of true stories and experiences to help bring us together…and to have some craic doing it! Storytelling is such a key, cultural way of communicating the present, not to mention the past and the potential future, and one which is a fundamental leveller of the human experience. This CRAICLY in the beautiful surrounds of the drawing room in Salterbridge House we will hear from food producers, growers, farmers etc who will share honest accounts of their experiences.

https://www.waterfordfestivaloffood.com/

Massive congratulations to Mick Collins Manager of in Midleton who was recently awarded National Off-License Association‘Spirits Specialist of the Year 2024’ 🏆

with stores located around Cork city and county have been fantastic supporters of Bertha since we launched back in 2016. Thank you 🙏🤩☘️🍸🏆🐄

We started with one small Brouwland gin still (pictured left) from Belgium back in 2016. We purchased a second one in 2017. In 2019 we commissioned a beautiful bespoke gin still from Carl in Germany. It is the Steinway of gin stills and not only makes delicious spirit but looks amazing too.

📸 by

☘️🍸🐄

Make Easter 2024 a happy one with Bertha's Revenge Gin tipples.

The full herd is available online or at a stockist near you.

Happy Easter!

https://shop.ballyvolanespirits.ie/

These old photos of Big Bertha and her owner Jerome O'Leary were taken by Jill Smith in the late 1980's. We met Jill at the launch of the Droimeann Cattle Society Herd Book was held at Ballyvolane House back in 2018. It is the first cattle breed to be recognised in Ireland since 1927. The society are doing really important work to help preserve one of the rarest of the Irish rare-breeds.

Jill farmed in Carrigaline in Co. Cork and had a herd of much loved Droimeanns. When she retired in 2018, she couldn't bear to send the cows for slaughter and instead, she raised money through a crowdfunding platform and had them all shipped to the Hillside animal sanctuary in Norfolk. Remarkable woman!

Bertha’s Revenge Gin is named after the most famous Droimeann of them all - Big Bertha, the world’s oldest cow. Fittingly, our distillery is located in an old cow shed in the farmyard at Ballyvolane. Ballyvolane translates into gaelic as ‘the place of leaping heifers’.

We raise a glass to Jill. Have a wonderful weekend!