Congratulations to our member, Mourne Dew Distillery and their Pooka Hazelnut Poitín Liqueur which has been crowned ‘Irish Drink of the Year 2025′ at the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards.
Distilling is in the blood of Mourne Dew’s Founder, Donal Farrell but he is the first generation of his family who has made a living from making poitín… well… “legally”.
Donal said: “One of my grandfathers was born in 1859, he obviously passed before I was born, so I never knew him.”
“But he had a reputation as a poitín-maker, as did his father, so I thought it would be nice to come full circle and start a distillery of my own.”
And that’s exactly what he did, founding Mourne Dew Distillery in 2017. At Mourne Dew Distillery, Donal and his team produce a variety of whiskies, gins, vodkas, poitíns and liqueurs.
Last week, Donal and the Mourne Dew Team were honoured at the Annual Irish Food Writers Guild Awards for their fantastic Pooka Poitín Hazelnut Liqueur.
The Mourne Dew Distillery Team were overwhelmed and delighted with the win, another in the bag for their already award-winning line of spirits. The Guild praised this liqueur for its smooth, delicate flavour, derived entirely from Irish hazelnuts.
The Pooka Hazelnut Poitín Liqueur combines rich, nutty flavors with hints of vanilla, chocolate,and cream, offering a smooth, innovative twist on traditional poitín. Recognised for its exceptional quality, it’s a standout among Mourne Dew’s renowned range of spirits and liqueurs.
Donal Farrell, Founder of Mourne Dew Distillery used to be a barrister and some 14 years ago was involved in a trial containing DNA evidence which had been obtained by cold distillation in a forensic laboratory in such a way as to avoid damaging the delicate and complex DNA molecule.
He became fascinated with the subject and it inspired him to apply this laboratory technique to the commercial distillation of spirits. The Mourne Dew cold distillation process offers significant advantages over conventional hot distillation.
Energy consumption is much less, chemical separation during distillation is much better thus yielding purer distillates and higher yields, molecular decomposition as a result of heat and pressure is practically eliminated so that distillates retain the fresh flavour of their original botanicals.
These are the reasons why Mourne Dew has developed a reputation for the high-quality distillates that go into their finished products.
The award-winning Mourne Dew range includes vodkas, gins, whiskies, poitíns and liqueurs. The Pooka Hazelnut Poitín Liqueur has now won the IFWG annual award for best drink.
A Pooka is a mischievous spirit in Irish mythology and has had a long association with alcohol, hence the naming of the brand. One of the world’s top restaurants, the three Michelin starred “Core by Clare Smyth” restaurant in London now features the Pooka on its cocktail menu.
Pooka Hazelnut Poitín Liqueur won a silver award at the London Spirits Competition and was runner-up in the Blas na hEireann awards in 2019, being beaten into second place by another Mourne Dew Product, their Pooka Poitín Blend No. 1!
For more info on Mourne Dew Distillery, please visit:
www.mournedew.com