The bar opened on Good Friday of this year.
On Sunday night (1 December), the Irish Craft Cocktail Awards took place and Bar 1661 ended up winning five of those awards, including Best Cocktail Bar in Ireland.
The establishment opened just off Capel Street in Dublin city centre in April – on Good Friday to be precise – and is named after the year that poitín was made illegal in Ireland.
The awards aim to celebrate the skill, training, uniqueness and artistry of craft cocktail concoction in Ireland, with the winners chosen according to both public and industry votes.
On the night, not only did Bar 1661 take home the Best Overall Cocktail Bar award, it also won Ireland’s Best New Cocktail Bar, Best Bar Team, and Best Cocktail Bar in Dublin as well as Best Bartender, which went to Bar 1661’s Gillian Boyle.
Some of the other big winners on the night include The Americana Bar @ the Devlin in Dublin (Best Hotel Cocktail Bar), Cask in Cork (winning Outstanding Cocktail Menu), and Liquor XXX in Belfast (Best Cocktail Bar in Ulster).
Bar 1661 founder, Dave Mulligan said of the wins: “So many passionate people have supported us over the last eight months, who believe in Poitín’s potential as Ireland’s native cocktail ingredient and we are so happy that this has been recognised tonight. We owe these accolades to the independent and small producers that work so hard, allowing us to create something different for the Dublin cocktail scene!”
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