Smuggling Nun: Reviving Ireland's Bootleg Poitin Legacy

About this episode

The episode explores the history and revival of Poitin, an ancient Irish spirit, through the story of Maura Clare and her unique recipe.

Poitin, Ireland's ancient unaged barley spirit, was illegally bootlegged for 300+ years until 1997, predating whiskey and inspiring global moonshine culture. Maura Clare learned a secretive 20th-century recipe with molasses and beet sugar from a retired bootlegger, blending whiskey warmth, tequila aroma, gin complexity, and rum sweetness at 45% ABV. Named after her nun cousin who smuggled it in a holy water bottle, the Gothic-arch bottle ships to 40 states via smugglingnun.com , perfect for cocktails like Celtic sours or neat sips.

People in this episode

Guest: Maura Clare

Topics covered

• Poitin
• Irish spirits
• bootlegging
• cocktails
• moonshine culture
• cultural heritage

Keywords

• Poitin
• Ireland
• bootlegging
• Maura Clare
• cocktails
• whiskey
• moonshine
• Gothic-arch bottle
• ABV

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: smugglingnun.com

Products: Poitin

Places: Ireland

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