Poitín

Poitín (Irish pronunciation: [ˈpˠotʲiːn] put-cheen); or poteen /ˈpʊtʃiːn/ is a traditional Irish distilled beverage (40%–90% ABV). Poitín was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the term is a diminutive of the Irish word pota, meaning "pot". The Irish for a hangover is póit. It is traditionally distilled from malted barley, grain, treacle, sugar or potatoes.

Legal status

To authorise the distillation of spirits a requirement was introduced at the parliament at Drogheda in 1556 which necessitated a licence under the great seal.

Today in Ireland there are a number of commercially produced spirits labelled as poitín, poteen or potcheen. In 2008, Irish poitín was accorded (GI) Geographical Indicative Status by the EU Council and Parliament.

Production

Poitín was generally produced in remote rural areas, away from the interference of the law. A wash was created and fermented before the distillation began. Stills were often set up on land boundaries so the issue of ownership could be disputed. Prior to the introduction of bottled gas, the fire to heat the wash was provided by turf. Smoke was a giveaway for the police, so windy, broken weather was chosen to disperse the smoke. The still was heated and attended to for several days to allow the runs to go through.

Poitín (film)

Poitín (1977) was the first feature film to be made entirely in Irish. It was also the first recipient of a film script grant from the Arts Council of Ireland.

Plot

The film was produced by Cinegael, written and directed by Bob Quinn, and starred Cyril Cusack as a moonshiner in rural Connemara, living in an isolated cottage with his adult daughter. Two local degenerates, played by Donal McCann and Niall Tóibín, terrorize the old moonshiner for his contraband liquor (poitín), threatening to kill him and rape his daughter, until the moonshiner outwits them and tricks them to their deaths.

Response

The film first aired to the Irish public on RTÉ Television on Saint Patrick's Day in 1979 and caused a national outrage. Taken by many as a direct insult to the idealized Western Irish identity, particularly pointing to the "spud fight" scene in the film, criticism echoed the response to John Millington Synge's stageplay The Playboy of the Western World (the "Playboy Riots") some seventy years earlier and the reaction to Brian O'Nolan's Irish language novel An Béal Bocht some forty years prior, both of which also played on Irish stereotypes, to which Irish nationalists are sensitive.

Poitín (band)

Poitín (/ˈpʊtʃiːn/; Irish pronunciation: [ˈpˠotʲiːn]) is a Celtic band from the Czech Republic. They have been active since 1997 and their music includes traditional Irish music, Scottish music and original tunes in the Celtic genre. Their most recent album, Wish was released in March 2014. Their previous CD Bofiguifluki, released in 2010, was the first recording by a Czech band to be voted Celtic Album of the year 2010 by Celtic Radio.Net. They were one of the first Celtic music groups to form in the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution and have had a significant influence on the development of the Celtic musical scene in that country.

Band members

Discography