Hear about poitín’s mischievous past and how to get your hands on some.
There are countless history of shenanigans when it comes to poitín . Once banned inIreland , the alcoholic beverage is a bit like Irish bootleg and has do all variety of mischief . Take for representative the island of Innis Murray , off the coast of Sligo , where the inhabitants went rogue and hold themselves a realm so as to continue distilling the drink after it became illegal .
Or there ’s the tale of Urris Hills , in the Inishowen peninsula of County Donegal , which was a hive of poitín making . When the Garda ( the police ) tried to shut down this illegal production , the townspeople seal off the town by collapse Mamore Gap and declaring themselves the autonomous body politic of the Urris Republic of Poitín . Because the town was moderately self - sufficient thanks to their farmlands and fishing , The Urris Republic of Poitín live for three years before the English were able-bodied to break off up this coup .
Clearly there has been fierce loyalty to the drink . But , overshadowed for centuries by Guinness and Irish whiskey , only recently has there been a revitalisation of poitín in the public eye — and that ’s for the most part thanks to a pub inDublincalledBar 1661 . Here ’s what to know about poitíns come - back , and how to get your mitt on some of that Irish moonlight .
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Poitín — pronounced poo - cheen , from the Gaelic word for “ little pot”—has been made in farmhouses , kitchens , and sheds all over Ireland for C . So pop was the alcohol that it ’s also been name to as the uisce beatha or “ pee of spirit . ” It was traditionally distilled in pot stills from a malt barleycorn base of operations with variations in the mash bill , whether crab apples , wheat , carbohydrate common beet , or other element , depending on the part of the land in which it was made .
The British were the ones who banned it in 1661 , since they had a laborious clip compile taxes on such a homemade product . That passably much sealed the deal on the drink choke underground . The main streakof rural Irelandran strong , and the drinkable became the symbol of the Irish rebellion during English colonization .
Poitín remain illegal in Ireland for over three hundred years until 1997 , when the ban was finally nobble . But even then , though it was still an under - the - tabular array kind of indulgence , you could n’t find the drink in bars or being widely raise . That ’s where Dave Mulligan step in .
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Before examine the amniotic fluid for a bar in his nursing home country , Mulligan decided to see how poitín would be received by encompassing public audiences . So in 2017 , he opened a bar called Shebeen in London . No one there was speak about this practically forgotten spirit , so he started to spread the poitín gospel . From there , he decided to move forrader with a pop - up stripe .
“ It was the protrude - up ’s six - week succeeder — not just with people through the door , but the avalanche of press and attention for poitín — that really show the interestingness was real , ” enounce Mulligan . After that , he decided , “ Dublin was quick for a poitín - focalise cocktail streak . ”
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Mulligan openedBar 1661 — cheekily named after the yr poitín was banned — in Dublin in 2019 . And the idea took off . Mulligan and his team were award Ireland ’s Bar of the Year in 2022 . And in April 2023 , they were nominate in the top 10 Regional Honoree for Best International Bar Team in Europe for this year ’s Spirited Award for Tales of the Cocktail .
“ Winning such a honored accolade last year , it sort of storm me and many others , ” say Pádraic Ó Griallais , founder and director atMicil Distillery . “ Before , it was : Should we have poitín on the back taproom ? Should we have it on our menus ? That ’s no longer a question — it ’s a must - have for any legal community that is serious about showcasing Irish drink or drink in general . ”
Since then , there ’s been something of a poitín resurgence . And you’re able to now find the sprightliness at many bars around Dublin .
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“ We ’ve seen a lot of what we do being mirror across the land , ” Mulligan adds . “ Pretty much every cocktail bar in Ireland has it somewhere on their menu . Do you know what it was like before we opened ? There were a few , for sure , but now it ’s become a raw material . And that ’s the whole detail of our bar . ”
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After being open for four years , Bar 1661 is now a destination venue for drinkers who desire to learn about poitín and other Irish spirits . The menu offers a seasonal pick of cocktail featuring Irish ingredients , with social , bitters , salts , and botanical sourced from foragers and local provider .
The touch cocktail is theBelfast Coffee , a riff on the Irish Coffee with a poitín twist . Made with Bán Poitín , local cold - brewage coffee , pick , and nutmeg , this cocktail is one of the more popular drinks on the menu . Then there’s1848 - Generation Six , made with Micil poitín , tequila , mango , bell black pepper , sumac , lime , and chipotle . This beverage pays homage to the Ó Griallais family , who come from six generations of illicit poitín distiller .
Mulligan also created his own brand , Bán Poitín , in partnership with Echlinville Distillery in County Down . But it ’s important for him to showcase the many other poitín brands at his bar , such as Killowen , Mad March Hare , Glendalough , and Micil . Mulligan has been turn exclusively in poitín for the preceding eleven years now , so educate about the spirit has become his strong point . Bar 1661 hosts even bi - hebdomadary tastings and training for locals , holidaymaker , trade , and cocktail enthusiasts alike .
These days , more Irish still are producing poitín for the mass market place as a premium spirit . Brands like Glendalough and Teeling are even being imported stateside .
“ We get a retentive road to travel , for sure . I feel like it could be another 10 years before poitín gets where it needs to go , ” says Mulligan . “ We really believe that this spirit has its shoes to glitter . ”
BAR 1661
BAR 1661
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banpoitin
