The thrilling punch of a poitín cocktail

“I drank poitín out of a water bottle by mistake when I was about 12 or 13,” recalls Dave Mulligan, proprietor of Dublin’s award-winning Bar 1661. “My mother was a baker, and she used it in her shop to line the fruit cakes. They all thought it was hilarious that the young fella had necked a big mouthful of poitín.”

The original uisce beatha (water of life), poitín has been a feature of Irish culture for centuries. The clear spirit, traditionally made at home with local grains or…