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'Poitín' (or 'Poteen') is an Irish moonshine and may also refer to Irish Whiskey. It has the highest volume of alcohol of all drinks in the world. (IPA , anglicized as ''putcheen'') or formerly ''potheen'' (IPA but in Ireland ). The term is a diminutive of the word ''pota'' 'a pot'; Poitín was traditionally distilled in a small pot.
The home brew is often strong and some market labels are as strong as 90% volume (180 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. Some rural Irish people still pour it on wounds and sores for disinfectant properties it is believed to have, which is plausible due to its high alcohol content.
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 licences. However, 'legal versions' of poitín 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.

Contents

Music

Literature

Cinema

Bibliography

External links

Music

★ The traditional Irish folk song "The Hills of Connemara" is about poitin.

★ Poitin is mentioned in the traditional Irish folk song "The Rare Auld Mountain Dew"

★ Poitín is also mentioned (along with Laudanum) in the song "The Snake With Eyes Of Garnet" by Shane MacGowan (formerly of The Pogues) on his 1994 album, ''The Snake''.

★ The song Mc Illhatton written by Bobby Sands is about an outlaw that distills Poitín.

Literature

★ Poitin 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. Poitín was also mentioned in the book How Many Miles to Babylon? by Jennifer Johnston. Poteen plays an important role in Martin McDonagh's play ''A Skull in Connemara'' when a character wants to barter a sip.

Cinema

★ The first feature film to be made entirely in the Irish Language was called "Poitín" (1979). The story involves an illegal distiller, his two agents, and his daughter in the remote west of Ireland, Connemara. The film was made by Bob Quinn and was the first film to receive a grant from the Arts Council of Ireland.

★ Poitín was also mentioned in Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)

★ Poitin was also included in the movie "Laws of Attraction" starring Juliann Moore and Pierce Brosnan.

Bibliography

★ John McGuffin ''In Praise of Poteen'', Appletree Press, Belfast, 1978. ISBN 0-9046-5136-3

★ Sinead Sturgeon, "The Politics of Poitin: Maria Edgeworth, William Carleton, and the Battle for the Spirit of Ireland", ''Irish Studies Review'', volume 15, number 1

External links

★ Knockeen Hills Poitín 90%