Dublin's first bar dedicated to Poitín, Bar 1661, opens in Dublin 7 this Friday, with the most impressive list of Irish made drinks we've seen anywhere. As well as four different poitíns, served straight, in eight different cocktails or in taster flights, they have an incredible amount of Irish whiskeys, gins and vodkas, as well as Killahora apple ice wine from Cork, Móinéir fruit wine from Wicklow, Llewellyns’s red wine from North Dublin, Stonewell Tawny (like Port made from apples) from Cork, and Dublin perry.
Bar 1661 has been set up by Dave Mulligan, who's been called "the poster-boy for poitín", and says he wants it to be "the global flagship for Irish poitín". Dubliner Dave has worked in bars and restaurants for the past 20 years, and moved to London in 2011 where he opened the world’s first underground poitín focused venue, Shebeen. He then went on to create his own award-winning poitín brand, Bán, in 2013, which is a traditional style Irish poitín distilled from potato, barley, and sugar beet.
Bar 1661 gets its name from the year poitín was banned in Ireland, and Dave said he's opened the bar "to give our national spirit the home it deserves". The food menu is also Irish focused, with cheeses and meats to start with, developing into a lunch menu over the next few weeks.
Bar 1661 opens on Good Friday at 12:00. Full details below.
Bar 1661
1-5 Green Street, Dublin 7
Tues - Thu 16:00 - late, Fri - Sun 12:00 - late.
