Poitín

Poitín or Poteen (IPA [ˈpˠocʲiːn], also potcheen) is a traditional Irish distilled, highly alcoholic beverage (90%-95% ABV). Poitín is distilled in a small pot and the term is a diminutive of the word pota, meaning "pot". Traditionally distilled from malted barley grain or potatoes. It is among the strongest alcoholic beverages in the world, and for centuries was classified as illegal or moonshine in Ireland.

Irish moonshine, along with all other private distillation not specifically licensed by the state, was outlawed in 1661. On 7 March 1997, the Irish Revenue Commissioners withdrew their opposition to Poitín being sold in Ireland, though legal production for export has been allowed since 1989. In 2008, Irish Poteen/Poitín was accorded (GI) Geographical Indicative Status by the EU Council and Parliament, under EU Regulation 110/2008 ANNEX 111. Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical designations for spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89.

Today, two Irish brands are officially licensed to produce Poteen/Poitin, Knockeen Hills, and Bunratty .

References in popular culture

• Many traditional Irish folk songs, such as "The Hills of Connemara" and "The Rare Old Mountain Dew," deal with the subject of Poitín.
• Poitín is a potent literary trope in Irish poetry and prose of the nineteenth century. The Irish critic Sinéad Sturgeon has demonstrated how the contested legality of the substance became a crucial theme running through the works of Maria Edgeworth and William Carlton.
• The first feature film to be made entirely in Irish was called Poitín (1979). The story involves an illegal distiller, his two agents, and his daughter in Connemara, in the remote west of Ireland.

See also

• Irish whiskey
• Pure pot still whiskey
• Moonshine