Dave Mulligan – Ireland’s Proud Poitín Purveyor

Before Irish whiskey as we know it today, there was a different spirit, the precursor to whiskey, the spirit that every house in Ireland had a drop of or participated in the making of. I’m talking of course about Poitín (pronounced pot-cheen). If you think the story of Irish whiskey is the greatest rollercoaster ride in the history of Irish spirits, then you’ve not yet heard the turbulent, thrilling, story of Poitín.

Without this clear spirit, we wouldn’t have whiskey as we know it and without awareness, enjoyment and supporting of it, we may lose an integral part of Ireland’s distilling history.

In Ireland there is one man associated with Poitín more than anyone else. He is the flag waver, drum beater, soapbox-standing ambassador for the spirit. He has spent years getting everyone and anyone to listen to its story, to taste it, to enjoy it. He has his own Poitín brand and his own award winning cocktail bar and no one has achieved more for Ireland’s oft-overlooked Poitín than this man. In this episode of Stories and Sips, I chat with Dave Mulligan, founder of Bar 1661 and Bán Poitín.

Dave has strong, passionate views about Ireland’s native spirit, about gin and Irish whiskey. But these views and opinions are backed by action – you get the sense from our chat that once Dave gets an idea – he drives at 150mph to get to the destination. And he’ll worry about sleep later.

You can find out more about Dave’s ventures on the links below: