#75 Dave Mulligan - Is Poitín Ireland's Mezcal? History, Production, Brands, Tasting
About this episode
Dave Mulligan discusses the history, production, and tasting of Poitín, Ireland's oldest spirit.
Dave Mulligan is the owner of Dublin's Bar 1661 and The Sackville Lounge, founder of Bán Poitín, and one of the most committed advocates for Ireland's oldest spirit currently working the floor. Poitín was banned by the British Crown in 1661 and remained illegal for 336 years, surviving in the hills of Connemara and Donegal as both an act of cultural defiance and a working farmer's economy. Now legal, GI-protected, and slowly finding its place on the world's best back bars, the category is at one of the most interesting moments in its history. On the episode we trace the spirit's origins back through the 1500s and earlier, separating monkish folklore from the documentary record. We taste a remarkable bottle from the 1830s that may rewrite some of what we think we know about Irish distillation. And we work through a flight of contemporary expressions including Micil's malted barley poitín, the Micil x Kneecap collaboration finished in Buckfast casks, Killowen's peated Dead & Buried, Bán Poitín itself, a Bán expression finished in cocktail-seasoned casks, and an unlabelled brown-paper-bag illicit bottle from an unnamed distiller ;-) We talk about what 1997 legalisation actually…
More episodes of The Curious Bartender Podcast
- #80 Julio Bermejo - 61 Years of Tommy's, Tequila Production, Margaritas, Mexico, 100% Agave, Dre Masso, Tom Estes
- #79 Yumi Yoshikawa - Chichibu Distillery, Ichiro Akuto, Japanese Whisky, Mizunara Oak, Floor Malting, Scotch Whisky
- #78 Freddy Andreasson - El Gallo Altinero, Tequila & Jalisco, 50 Best, Terroir, Coffee
- #77 Liam Davy - Director of Bars for 14 Hawksmoor Restaurants: Martinis, US vs UK Drinking, Gen Z, Natural Wine, Mezcal, Pubs
- #74 Edward Slingerland - The Evolutionary Case for Getting Drunk, Alcohol and Neurochemistry, Socialisation, Archaeology, Philosophy
- #73 Mathieu Sabbagh - Mobile Distillery, Fin de Bourgogne, Eau-De-Vie, Fruit Spirits, Reviving Tradition
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Curious Bartender Podcast podcast page.