Fiddlesticks Restaurant and Bar

Every holiday we flew home to Dublin to be with the family. On these holidays Grandma Ann and I would walk through Fairview Park with a picnic basket and pick blackberries. We would collect enough to make jam, which we had on toast, and Grandad Kevin would put a spoonful into his porridge. With what was left, Grandma made a blackberry gin. She would leave it under the stairs for 2 weeks to infuse. On one occasion I dipped my finger into a jar to try it – I got a smack over the head from Grandma. Once the gin was infused with the blackberries and ready to drink, every Friday my Grandma and Grandad would sit in front of the fire in their home and have a glass of gin with tonic garnished with a berry and thyme; to toast their time together and treat themselves after a long week. This cocktail creation is a toast to my roots, with my grandparents remembered fondly with each pour.