Somewhere along the way, I missed that this little labor of love passed its 10 year anniversary!

In order to celebrate, belatedly, I offer you my new favorite cocktail, The Herbert.

My husband and I spent a week in Ireland this past April and while in Killarney stayed at Cahernane House, a grand old manor house turned into a hotel just outside of town. On our first evening we visited their Cellar Bar, located in the former cellar of the house, complete with arched stone ceilings, stuffed deer heads, and an engaging bartender named Todd.

While perusing their drinks menu, I saw a cocktail right at the top of the list called The Herbert and asked Todd about it. He said it was named after the original owner of the house, Henry Herbert. I thought the combination of ingredients sounded odd, (gin, elderflower liquor, and spiced rum?) but he promised I’d enjoy it. And I did.

I liked it so much, I posted it on my travel blog’s Instagram page and have made this cocktail many many times since coming home. It’s become our “house signature cocktail” this summer. It’s light and almost refreshing and definitely goes down way too easy, so take care!

 

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For the gin, you can use any London Dry style gin; we typically use Sapphire or Hendricks. For the elderflower liquor, you can use St. Germain or even an elderflower cordial like this which contains no alcohol (I’ve used this before and it’s quite good). For the spiced rum, yes, the bartender said Captain Morgan’s is the best, so haul out that bottle from the back of your liquor cabinet! Finally, fresh limes are a must for this cocktail!

Print Recipe

The Herbert Cocktail

The Herbert, a gin cocktail with a twist, from Killarney Ireland.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Total Time5 minutes mins

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cocktails

Servings: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 fluid ounce dry gin
• 1 fluid ounce elderflower liquor
• 1/2 fluid ounce spiced rum
• 1/2 fluid ounce fresh lime juice
• extra limes for garnish

Instructions

• Add about a cup of ice to a cocktail shaker and then add the liquid ingredients.
• Shake for about 15 seconds and pour into a martini glass.
• Garnish with a slice of fresh lime.

As for the last ten years, they seemed to have passed in a flash. I started this blog during the recession when I was forced to take furlough days from work. Fortunately, that didn’t last too long and I’m still with the same company.

Things have certainly changed in the blogging world though, and while food blogs are no longer near as popular as they once were, I’m determined not to let Former Chef disappear. I don’t have as much time to devote to blogging but all that means are somewhat fewer posts. I’m not going anywhere.

So go shake yourself up a Herbert cocktail and come have a drink with me to celebrate 10 years of food and fun in our little corner of the internet. Cheers!

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