Poteen is made from barley which was soaked for a day in a large barrel of water. The grain was spread on the floor near the fire to dry and ripen. When it first began to bud, it wad dried and ground, and put into the mash (or wash) barrel. Some brewers would add yeast, while others would let the natural yeasts do the work. After two to four weeks, the batch was ready for the still. The heady liquid was siphoned off and put into the pot. The fire was built up and the water was started running on the condenser coil. The first bit to come over contained all the fusel oils, which are highly toxic. For this reason, the first "noggin" was always dumped out on the ground… for the Fairy Folk, or so it was claimed. The remainder of the batch was tapped off into bottles and tightly corked. These were then hidden.
tastes might fine when done right!
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