Ireland's Original Water of Life

Turning sugar into alcohol is a practice older than the pyramids with a history that stretches from the Middle East all the way up to Ireland. At the Glendalough Distillery, Donal O’Gallachoir and his team of craft spirit classicists are turning back the clock to Ireland circa 584 AD, when the spirit of the day wasn’t whiskey but poitín (pot-cheen), also known as ischabaha (ishka-baha), the water of life.

“Poitín,” says O’Gallachoir, “was first produced in monastic settlements and is the great-grandfather to modern-day whiskey. We wanted to start with something that spoke to the origins of craft spirits.” Glendalough is located in Wicklow, just south of Dublin on land that was once (during the 6th century) home to monks, including Saint Kevin, whose image serves as the company logo. According to O’Gallachoir, it was these very monastic settlements that advanced the development of agriculture and helped refine the distilling process, perfecting the use of copper pot stills, like the one used by Glendalough to make their poitín.

These days Glendalough is offering three distinct bottlings. Their Premium Irish brand is heady on the nose and made using sugar beets for a touch of sweetness and body, malted barley for toastiness and virgin Irish oak casks for woody flavors. Their Sherry Cask Finish is, as the name suggests, finished in Spanish sherry barrels, which lend it a beautiful light amber color and add flavors of golden raisins and honey, along with a pleasant salinity reminiscent of manzanilla. For the brave, their Mountain Strength brand is spicy and bold, closest to the ancient poitín in flavor, with an intense nose that will be familiar to lovers of Navy strength rum. All three varieties make for excellent sipping, maybe with just a touch of water to bring out the bright notes, or they can be mixed into cocktails to build a drink that’s full of character.

“Poitín is a whiskey that went its own way,” remarks O’Gallachoir. “The craft spirits movement is founded on heritage and independence. We are a one hundred percent Irish-owned company, including friends and family (like my cousin Barry who’s the managing director).” And Glendalough’s timing is perfect; it’s hitting a market on the rise, just as interest in distilling is at its peak. Their bottles can be found throughout the city at restaurants like The Kirkland Tap & Trotter and Tavern Road. Bartenders around town are beginning to experiment with it in a number of seasonal cocktails, including highballs and tiki bowls.