Susy Atkins examines Irish drinking culture and discovers that drinkers tastes have gradually changed and moved beyond Guinness, whiskey and liqueurs.
The Irish appetite for spirits is down to the marshy and watery terrain of the country, which causes them to fall ill from colds and flu. Well, that's what Edmund Campion put it down to in his book, History of Ireland, written in 1569. “For remedy thereof, they use an ordinary drink of aqua vitae,...
Irish Whiskey
from Issue 15 published on 16/4/2001
Ireland is rich in myths about the magic powers of poitin, the aromatic spirit that was distilled illegally for centuries. But now it has a new life on the right side of the law. Susy Atkins traces its rise from moonshine to respectability
Go to the dark, smoky old bar in Bunratty, Shannon, western Ireland and you might well meet a poitin (pronounced ‘potcheen’) maker. You can sit with him and enjoy a glass or two of his clear, fiery spirit. The locals will chat and drink poitin with you too, and they’ll tell you romantic, very tall t...
Irish Whiskey
from Issue 8 published on 16/2/2000
