Poitín

Poitín or Poteen (IPA Unicode| [ˈpˠocʲiːn] , also "potcheen") is a traditional Irish distilled, highly alcoholic beverage (90%-95% ABV)cite book
last = McGuffin
first = John
title = In Praise of Poteen
year = 1978
publisher = Appletree Press
location = Belfast
isbn = 0-9046-5136-3 ] . Poitín is distilled in a small pot and the term is a diminutivecite book
last = Ó Dónaill
first = Niall
title = Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla
year = 1977
publisher = Oifig na tSoláthair
location = Dublin
isbn = p.707] of the Irish 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.cite web
url= http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/785672
title= Poteen - The Guid Ould Stuff
accessmonthday=12 March
accessyear=2008
last= Niafer
first= MacMorna]

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 the Republic of Ireland, though legal production for export has been allowed since 1989. In 2008, Irish Poitín was accorded (GI) Geographical Indicative Status by the EU Council and Parliament, under EU Regulation 110/2008 ANNEX 111 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 poitín, 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 [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.] .
*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.

ee also

*Irish whiskey
*Pure pot still whiskey
*Moonshine

References