Resident cocktail expert Oisin Davis brings Poitín to the masses with the Al-Potcheeno

I’ve said this before and I’ll keep saying it ’til I’m blue in the face; you need to put some poitín in your life. Not the kind that your crazy uncle makes in his garage and presents as a gift to the family for Christmas, but the very legal and very tasty variety.

And there are truly some beauts out there, such as the lovely Bán Poitín, distilled up north in Echlinville with local malted barley, potato and sugar beets.

It is also the only potion to be featured in the Irish Cocktail Fest, which is running across the island of Ireland from October 10 to 15.

All of the participating venues have to create and feature a cocktail with an Irish spirit as the leading ingredient.

This one is a very Irish take on the classic cocktail, Negroni. Sláinte!

What to put in:

• 25 ml Bán Poitín
• 25 ml Red Vermouth
• 20 ml Aperol
• 5 ml Campari

How to make it:

1. Place all ingredients in a shaker with some ice
2. Stir for 15 seconds to chill and combine the ingredients
3. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice
4. Garnish with an orange slice

This article originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of GCN, which is available to read here.