Poitín Now Straight Up Tasting | Belfast Whiskey Week 2024

There are nights at Belfast Whiskey Week that feel less like a festival session and more like a quiet act of cultural reclamation — and Session 71, Poitín Now: Straight Up, was exactly that. Held on 26th July 2024 at the Duke of York, this spin-off tasting invited guests to pull up a stool, set aside their preconceptions, and get properly acquainted with Ireland's original spirit. For just £15, it turned out to be one of the most quietly revolutionary evenings of BWW24.

About This Event

We want to introduce the World to Poitín, and what better way than to have a cheeky wee Spin-Off Event at the Festival. We've included Poitín in the past and it’s gone down a treat – come try some Poitín and join the revolution!!!

Looking Back

Poitín — uisce beatha in its rawest, most ancestral form — has long existed in Ireland's cultural memory somewhere between myth and mischief. For generations it was the spirit of the tír, distilled in secret, passed hand to hand across the sheugh and through the hills, carrying with it all the duchas of the land. Belfast Whiskey Week has never been shy about acknowledging that heritage, and this Straight Up tasting was a deliberate, joyful push to bring poitín in from the cold — legally, this time.

The format was refreshingly unfussy. Rather than wrapping the spirit in ceremony or over-explanation, the session let the poitín do the talking. Guests were guided through a selection of contemporary expressions, each one a window into how Irish distillers are now reinterpreting this tradition with craft and intention. What struck many attendees was just how varied poitín can be — unaged and electric in one glass, softly fruited and almost gentle in the next. The spirit rewards curiosity, and this room was full of it.

The Duke of York provided exactly the right backdrop. One of Belfast's most storied bars, its narrow Victorian corridors and walls papered with old city history made for a fitting venue to explore a spirit with deep roots in Irish life. There was a warmth in the room — the kind of easy seanchas that flows when people discover something together for the first time. First-timers and seasoned whiskey enthusiasts alike found themselves leaning in, swapping notes, reaching for another dram.

It's worth noting that poitín has been appearing at Belfast Whiskey Week for several years now, always to an enthusiastic response — and 2024 was no different. For those who wanted to broaden their Irish spirits education even further across the festival, there was plenty of opportunity: the Bushmills History MasterClass offered a deep dive into the longer arc of Irish whiskey tradition, while the Bushmills Causeway Collection MasterClass explored some of the most considered aged expressions coming out of the north coast. Together, events like these sketch a picture of Irish distilling in full — from its unaged, rebellious roots to its most refined, barrel-matured expressions.

Sláinte to everyone who came along, raised a glass, and joined the revolution. If poitín is new to you and this retrospective has piqued your interest, keep an eye on our Whiskey Map to explore the wider landscape of Irish and Ulster spirits — and check back when the next festival rolls around. The spirit of the tír isn't going anywhere.

More from Belfast Whiskey Week

• Session 83: Bushmills History (MasterClass)
• Session 1: Bushmills New Cask Finish Range (Introduction)
• Session 2: Bushmills Core Malts (Introduction)
• Session 22: Sexton Deconstruction (Showcase)
• Session 23: Bushmills Cask strength (Mini-MasterClass)
• Session 50: Bushmills Causeway Collection (MasterClass)

Explore the full programme on the Belfast Whiskey Week Whiskey Map.