Poteen

Topic created by TinSoldier
on Wed, 1 Feb 2012 at 11:55

TinSoldier said on Wed, 1 Feb 2012 at 11:55...

hi guys, poitin or poteen? anyone ever tried this? Banned in 1661 this is a kind of high strength irish moonshine made from potatoes / barley. looks to me like a devil's brew made on the fire in olden days. anyhow Poteen is now legal again (like absinthe) was wondering if it had any interesting qualities ??

La Fee Vertigo said on Fri, 3 Feb 2012 at 18:52...

The whole world is awash with historic homemade pot distillations, poteen seems to have a special status due to it having been banned (and subsequent cultural references) Why was Poteen banned please?

ty9 said on Mon, 6 Feb 2012 at 18:42...

I believe it was a rough spirit made by widows! It is said that the modern commercial Poteen is not the same. I agree with LFV - with so many wonderful spirits to sample I am not really tempted...although I saw a bottle in a spirits shop a while back.

Old Nick said on Wed, 8 Feb 2012 at 11:53...

The interesting qualities are most likely associated with the strength of the alcohol in Poteen which is in the same "ballpark" as absinthe. The rough taste of Poteen is probably rather nice in a lonely wind swept pub with some folk music and good company.

La Fee Vertigo said on Thu, 9 Feb 2012 at 11:21...

What is the point of very high proof spirit anyway! The difference between Poteen and Absinthe is significant though - Water is added as an emulsifier (releasing the precious herbs and botanicals) so its it is a concentrate and not some awful brew like Big Heap's firewater. You are not going to add water to enjoy the flavor of the potatoes are you? It's a neat shot I suppose?

Old Nick said on Mon, 13 Feb 2012 at 10:23...

Just out of interest....sigh...what is Big Heap's firewater. Is that Poteen? I do hope this is not another bizarre xenophobic reference, LFV.

La Fee Vertigo said on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 at 16:49...

Big Heap is a character who drinks very strong moonshine in "Carry on Cowboy", a comic film from the 1960s.

Holy Joe said on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 at 08:27...

The original may be rough as old boots, but the commercial Poteen is not. Irish travelers used to have it I know. Poteen was served from stone jars with rabbit stew at the coronation of the King of The Gypsies and other shindigs. I wonder if they still have it these-days? Probably not.

Old Nick said on Fri, 2 Mar 2012 at 09:52...

Bizarre references to cult movies aside....Poteen is a really a hillbilly ancestor of fine whisky! After all is said and done it was the Irish who invented whisky