Pronounced “poteen”, poitín is the Irish version of American moonshine or white lightning. Poitín was generally produced in remote rural areas, away from the interference of the law. Since it was the Irish and Scots-Irish who settled the American South, it stands to reason that they brought their traditions of distilling with them, making poitín the direct ancestor of American moonshine traditions!
The more I explore different components of culture and history, the more I realize how many American traditions have their roots in Ireland and/or Scotland. I was aware of how Celtic music had a huge influence on American music, from bluegrass to country to blues and rock. I also thought it was really cool how tap dancing was born in America from a combination of African rhythms and Irish step dancing.
There are lots of connections like these, but learning about poitín was a new one to me. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that rural Ireland would have similar distilling traditions as rural United States, but it still fascinates me how so many of the things we hold up as "American" have very direct roots in the old countries.
Some of my favorite Irish folk and Old Timey songs reference the "mountain dew." This is a reference to the clear liquor they were producing in secret in the hills of their respective countries. It's amazing to me to hear and see the similarities of cultures existing 3,000 miles from each other.
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