Mad March Hare Irish Poitín celebrated International Poitín Day in November 2021 with a world’s first – a small batch bottling of poitín focused bitters. We sat down with John Ralph (founder of Mad March Hare) and Jarrod Cuffe (founder of Off the Cuffe Bitters) to learn more about the bitters and how they came to be.
“The Mad March Mule is one of the best ways to enjoy poitín and has been our go-to cocktail for as long as we remember. We’ve trialled loads of bitters in the recipe which all taste great, but we still felt like we could make it better,” said John Ralph.
“That’s where the idea to produce our own poitín bitters came from. We decided to team up with our favourite Irish bitters brand Off the Cuffe and produce something truly unique, using our poitín and Jarrod’s bitter expertise.”
Jarrod from Off the Cuffe added: ““Bitters are to drink, what salt and pepper are to food. Bitters help to make a good drink great!
“We were thrilled to collaborate with the team at Intrepid Spirits and Mad March Hare to produce what we think is the world’s first poitín focused bitters. We took our inspiration from the classic mule serve and used unique ingredients to bring out the best of this wonderful Irish spirit which is taking the Irish cocktail scene by storm,” he said.
Making the Bitters
Jarrod explained to us how the bitters were made. “The bitters were made using a cold maceration and blending process that takes 45 days from start to finish. The ingredients and spices include: Mad March Hare newmake spirit, raisins, Irish breakfast tea, aniseed, cassia bark, pear wood, cardamom, star anise, lemon peel, caraway, oak wood, plum wood, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, coriander seed, and clove,” Jarrod said.
In total, 2,000 100ml bottles were produced for the initial run.
The Mad March Hare team gave us two recommended serves that best compliment the unique bitters.
Mad March Mule
- 1 part Mad March Hare Poitín
- 2 parts ginger beer (we like to use Poachers)
- 2 dashes Mad March Hare Mule Bitters
- Squeeze of fresh lime, built over ice.
Mad March Hare Hot Toddy
- 40ml Mad March Hare Poitín
- 15ml ginger syrup
- 2 dash Mad March Hare Mule bitters
- Topped with boiling water
- Lemon slice garnish
Mad March Hare is distributed by Intrepid Spirits through Celtic Whiskey Shop, Classic Drinks and MCM Spirits. The Poitín is available at Irish Drinks Shop, Celtic Whiskey Shop, Deveney’s Dundrum, Blackrock Cellars, and The Coach House Ballinteer.
Mad March Hare has nationwide delivery in the US through online retailer Cask & Barrel.
For more information, visit madmarchharepoitin.com or follow @madmarchharepoitin on Instagram.
