Irish Poteen
"By the smoke & smell, you can plainly tell, there's a Poteen still nearby" - Bucket of the mountain Dew
Poteen or Poitín or Potcheen or formerly
potheen is an Irish moonshine and may also refer to Irish
Whiskey. Poteen was traditionally distilled in a small pot.
The home brew is often strong and some market labels are as strong as 90% volume (180 US proof). Made from a brew consisting mainly of barley, it has a distinctive dry and grainy flavor with a delicate aftertaste that becomes sweeter as it develops. This legendary Irish moonshine was outlawed in 1760 and has only recently been legalized for consumption again in Ireland, though legal production for export has been allowed for quite some time. It is now available in collectors' off licenses. However, 'legal versions' of poteen are of a greatly reduced volume, and are not seen as 'the real thing'.
More precisely, in 1661 King Charles II
introduced a levy on spirits in the United Kingdom. In Ireland however it
was totally ignored, but ninety nine years later the Crown tried again by
outlawing private distillation unless specifically licensed by the State.
Overnight a large proportion of the Irish population became criminals as
has anyone who has distilled it privately since.
This change in status (from tax evaders to outright outlaws) did little to
slow what had become a major cottage industry. The pot-stills and barrels
of fermenting mash or wash were moved from the house to the barn, to small
shacks in the hills. Some set up operations in ancient cairnes and burial
chambers. Others took their equipment to islands in the middle of lakes,
the better to see the guards coming. One enterprising fellow even had his
operation set up on a small boat on Lough Erne. For many years he was able
to out-row the Gardai (Police) and thus evade capture.
Traditionally, Poteen is made from barley which was soaked for a day in a large barrel of water. The grain was spread on the floor near the fire to dry and ripen. When it first began to bud, it wad dried and ground, and put into the mash (or wash) barrel. Some brewers would add yeast, while others would let the natural yeasts do the work. After two to four weeks, the batch was ready for the still. The heady liquid was siphoned off and put into the pot. The fire was built up and the water was started running on the condenser coil. The first bit to come over contained all the fusel oils, which are highly toxic. For this reason, the first "noggin" was always dumped out on the ground… for the Fairy Folk, or so it was claimed. The remainder of the batch was tapped off into bottles and tightly corked. These were then hidden, hopefully in spots the tax assessors were not going to look.
After the potato was introduced into Ireland, it was discovered that the starchy vegetable could also be used to make Poteen. More recently, poteen has been made from plain sugar. Many say that these modern recipes do not have the flavor of the "real ould stuff". The good stuff has a slight smokey tang from the turf fire and a subtly sweet aftertaste. Since Poteen is now able to be licensed and produced legally there are two companies that are officially licensed to produce Poteen; Knockeen Hills, and Bunratty Winery in Co. Clair. Both are outstanding and have won many awards and prizes in competition.
Although poteen can now be made legally, there are still many an Irish man who hold on to this old tradition of moonshining. The legal stuff is a nice representation of the "real ould stuff", but it usually doesn't have the kick and the heart that a true drop of the pure poteen has. Bunratty Poteen comes in 2 varieties, 80 proof poteen, is the poteen sold in the republic of Ireland, and 90 proof poteen is the poteen marked for export. Likewise, Knockeen hills sells their poteen in 3 strengths, 120 proof poteen, 140 proof poteen, and the hold onto your Irish flat caps, 180 proof poteen!
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