Poitín: From the Back Alleys to the Backbars.
- Mar 8, 2015
- 7 min read
With Paddy’s Day agilely creeping up on us like a dexterous ninja, we’ve decided to hero a spirit this week that runs categorically deep within our well oiled Irish veins. And that spirit my friend, is poitín. Once considered more sacred than a vial of holy water from Lourdes, and operating under alias’s such as ‘White Whiskey’, ‘Mountain Dew’ and ‘The Hard Stuff’, poitín has now well and truly pulled it’s Irish arse out of the sombre obscurity it once dwelled in and is ready for some serious business. So here at We Are Distilled, we've decided to give this beauty one damn huge shout out.
So, what the hell is it and where the hell has it been for that matter? Well, let us tell you a little tale. Grab yourselves some wellies and a hip flask, we’re wading into some poitín-soaked Irish history.
We’re well acquainted with this spirit. Quite frankly we're in love with it and we want you to be too. In fact, our Irish/English hybrid of an Editor, Annie, had the advantage of growing up around true, back alley, home brew poitín in Ireland in the 90s, and once mistook a bottle of her Dad’s bootleg concoction for vodka. The result? Multiple hours of unattainable memory loss and a hangover that would rival the apocalypse. But don’t worry, the experiences soon got better!
And that’s where we are, quite fittingly, going to start our story, in illegal territories. After being outlawed like a rogue, shoot ‘em up cowboy by the Irish government (the bastards!) over 300 years ago, poitín has since been illegally home brewed by pretty much anyone who had a brain and equipment near by. And it is these unsung alcoholic heroes that have truly kept this Irish spirit alive.
Traditionally poitín (also spelt poteen or potcheen) was made by anything the Irish could get their hands on; potatoes, wheats, grains, berries, and distilled in small copper pots (pota is Gaelic for pot, so poitín literally means ‘little pot’). It’s fearless healing powers were stuff of legends and went as far as claiming a good shot could cure arthritis, rheumatisms and that age old ‘attack of the nerves’!
Not surprising. This stuff is bloody potent. Unadulterated bottles that were delivered on just a wink and a nod claimed ABVs of up to 90%. But where they excelled in strength, some bottles lacked monumentally in purity and quality and even lead to deaths due to methanol levels. An urban myth rapidly emerged that over indulgence could lead to blindness, and many thought it did, but this was simply government propaganda out to squash the consumption of this beautiful spirit.
But the Irish loved it. They loved the notoriety, the mysticality and quite rightfully too. Poets wrote about it, musicians sang about it, artist mused over it. It was hope, inspiration, escapism. As The Dubliners Ronnie Drew so gruffly sang:
Now learned men who use the pen,
Have written their praises high.
That sweet poitín from Ireland green,
Distilled from wheat and rye.
Throw away your pills; it will cure all ills,
Of the pagan, the Christian or Jew
Take off your coat and grease your throat
With the real old mountain dew
Then the day arrived. The blessed day. The day that pushed this mystical, treasured spirit from the depths of the most illicit, blackest shadows and in to the shimmering sunlight where it now deservedly basks. With hallelujahs being ardently screamed across Ireland, in 1997 the ban was finally lifted and poitín was at last legal to produce and sell again.
So this story brings us stumbling to the present day. A present day where we have such fine examples of quality, premium poitíns (though there still are a few underground distilleries producing Irish moonshine!). With its utter palatable brilliance, poitín is seriously hitting some hard balls out the park, and in 2008 was granted Geographical Indicative Status by the EU, which means it has to come from Ireland to be called poitín.
It is now being enjoyed in the same way as gin, whiskey or vodka, and can be seen popping up on backbars around the world (Shebeens in London’s Kentish Town has a fair few bottles on their backbar, if you fancy a visit). Sure even Tesco sold it too! Use it in cocktails, sip it up neat, drink it however you like. It’s here to be enthusiastically imbibed. Slainte!
So, have you had enough history for one sitting? Yeah we thought so. Let’s get it down us then. We’ve picked out three courageous poitíns that are flying one hell of a flag and are well worth adding to your booze collection. Here goes.
Winner of Irish Poitín of the Year at the Irish Whiskey Awards 2013*, brothers Jack and Stephen Teeling, along with distiller Alex Chasko have created this punchy, powerhouse poitín to get your salivating mouths around. And as the boys state themselves, their poitín “gives you a unique chance to taste what real poitín has to offer.”
Produced using 80% triple-distilled corn spirit and 20% double-distilled malt, this poitín delivers a weighty, fragrant fist; the likes you’d expect to get whilst being eloquently serenaded by a fruit-cake-wielding Chuck Norris. The aroma certainly gets you going. Hints of dried fruits, sweetness of candy floss and a whisper of fresh bread all hook up to create one notable scent.
As soon as you taste it, BAM! It delivers you one massive metaphorical kick up the arse! But what a flavour. Considering its high alcohol content, you think it’s going to make you feel like you’ve just been smacked round the head with a baseball bat by some two bit thug, but it doesn’t at all. It’s amazing how smooth it is, how awesome it feels in your mouth. Continue to sip and you’ll soon find raisins bowling onto your tongue, marching defiantly side by side with almonds, sweetness of marzipan and an inkling of allspice.
The finish is ample too. Warming and smooth, you feel a nice dab of heat from the spice as it goes down. Great to warm you up in the winter, this is one bountiful poitín that takes you on a great, flavourful journey.
This prestigious dram stands proudly and triumphantly high on the rolling poitín hills. It has won more medals than Daniel O’Donnell has elderly fans! It won 14 at the International Wine and Spirits Competition and was awarded 92 points at the 2012 USA Ultimate Spirits Challenge. Not surprising, it’s a great bloody poitín.
It has quite an unexpected delicate aroma. You almost feel it should deliver a bare knuckle punch to your face as you lean over the glass, but it doesn’t, it’s beautifully subtle. There are hints of vanilla and crisp melon and tiny mutter of spice.
It sure gives you a good kick in your mouth, though. An addictive kick that pulls you back in for more. But it’s not harsh and it’s not brash. It plants itself on your tongue with such smooth assertiveness and sweetness. Vanilla will pop its head up again alongside light fruit tones and a hint of maltyness, moving on into a fresh, crisp finish.
What makes Knockeen Hills so unique is that they use traditional Irish whey instead of grain, which is triple distilled. This gives the spirit a beautifully smooth delivery, with a soft creamy undertone and a good, lingering finish.
Definitely one to ease you on to their poitín wagon. However, if you’re looking for more strength then Knockeen Hills also does a 70% and a 90%. But be careful with the latter, it comes equipped with some well-needed cautions!
Even with the lowest ABV of the three we picked, Ban Poitín delivers one hell of a prestigious brew. First released in 2013 by poitin pioneers Cara Humphreys and Dave Mulligan, Ban Poitín is distilled in small batches in the village of Skibbereen on the south west coast of Ireland. It uses a combination of sugar beet and malted barley, and it is this addition of the sugar beet that helps to deliver a shot of unwavering sweetness to your chops.
And the journey doesn’t stop there. This poitín certainly takes you for a ride. The aromas are quite strong, hearty and vividly potent, like being delivered a steel-toe-capped kick to your nose that’s got balls, whilst also administering a sharp and refreshing clarity that makes for one tip top poitín. You certainly get enthralled in the sweet, almost almondy elements of the aroma, as if the poitín was about to waltz you round a ballroom floor whilst seductively eating a rum and raison ice cream.
But as soon as you taste it, that seduction develops into intense, flavourful lust. Man, this is good poitín. It doesn’t want to waltz with you anymore, it wants to wickedly make out with you, like now. Big time! But the sweetness of this poitín is amazing, almost rum-like. Vanilla and almonds dance round your mouth with such a smooth and refreshing decisiveness, and it still manages to pack that weighty punch you would expect from a poitín. This is rounded up nicely with just the right amount of peppery spice and a great long finish that leaves you wanting that next drop.
This poitín is insane and definitly one you should get your teeth stuck into. It delivers that heart, that courage, that character in which poitín was born with.
Want to know how to drink poitín? Then head on over to our Poitín Cocktails edit by Head Bartender at Reunion Bar London, David Coveney.
*Editors Note: Not all Irish poitin brands entered Irish Poitín of the Year Award at the Irish Whiskey Awards 2013
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