Beverage Chronicles with Gary Monterosso

Smuggling Nun: Reviving Ireland's Bootleg Poitin Legacy

Poitin, Ireland's ancient unaged barley spirit, was illegally bootlegged for 300+ years until 1997, predating whiskey and inspiring global moonshine culture.

Maura Clare learned a secretive 20th-century recipe with molasses and beet sugar from a retired bootlegger, blending whiskey warmth, tequila aroma, gin complexity, and rum sweetness at 45% ABV.

Named after her nun cousin who smuggled it in a holy water bottle, the Gothic-arch bottle ships to 40 states via smugglingnun.com, perfect for cocktails like Celtic sours or neat sips.