BAR 1661 launches limited edition Christmas Cocktails
Award-winning Dublin cocktail venue BAR 1661 has launched a limited-edition Christmas cocktail menu for the festive season.
BAR 1661 opened its doors in 2019, with a mission to showcase our native spirit poitín, and to lift Irish cocktail culture to new heights internationally
The five-drink menu showcases BAR 1661’s commitment to Irish producers and innovative approach to flavour, married with some seasonal flair.
The special menu will sit alongside their much lauded ‘We Call this Power’ cocktail menu, recognised as one of the Top 4 Cocktail Menus in the World.
Cranberry & Pine is a mix of Sausage Tree vodka, cranberry cordial, pine needle, red vermouth, and strawberry wine, served in an elegant coupe glass.
Patricios & Pear is a Margarita style drink with Bán poitín, Don Julio Tequila, poire williams EDV, hibiscus, guava, and the warming flavour of cinnamon.
Mistletoe & Mead is a creamy mix of Mad March Hare Poitín, Silkie Irish whiskey, sherry, mead, sweet potato and sesame cream served in a clay vessel.
PX & Pie is an Old Fashioned style cocktail with Dingle Single Malt, Bulleit Bourbon, Hennessy, with flavours of mince pie and PX sherry.
All are priced at €15.
A special barrel-aged Old Fashioned cocktail Whiskey & Wood, is made with Roe & Co and Bulleit Rye Whiskey, aged for over two years by BAR 1661 in a sherry cask, with flavours of PX Sherry, priced at €16.
BAR 1661 opened its doors in 2019, with a mission to showcase our native spirit poitín, and to lift Irish cocktail culture to new heights internationally.
Founded by Dubliner Dave Mulligan, who also makes poitín under his own brand Bán, BAR 1661 brings a staunchly Irish and fiercely independent approach to everything it does, working with the best products and producers on the island of Ireland. Sister bar, The Sackville Lounge opened its doors off O’Connell Street in April 2025 and has already garnered attention for its elevated approach to classic cocktails and for bringing some big city glamour back to the Dublin’s main thoroughfare.
BAR 1661 has been awarded multiple accolades since opening, at home and abroad.
In 2025 alone they won Ireland’s Bar of the Year, Innovative Bar of the Year, and Cocktail Bar of the Year at the Bar of the Year Awards, Innovator of the Year at the Irish Restaurant Awards 2025, Cocktail Bar of the Year at the Irish Bar and Cocktail Awards, and most recently Cocktail Experience of the Year at the Food & Wine Restaurant of the Year Awards.
Additionally, in its first year The Sackville Lounge was named newcomer of the Year at the Irish Bar and Cocktail Awards and its head bartender Dave Taylor won Cocktail Bartender of the Year at the Bar of the Year Awards.
Internationally, as well as the honour of being named as one of Top 4 Cocktail Menus in the World by the Spirited Awards, BAR 1661 were also awarded 2 PINS by The Pinnacle Guide, the new global system recognising excellence in bars.
Out of thousands of venues, only 19 bars in the world were recognised with two pins in this edition and BAR 1661 is proud to be the first in Ireland with two shiny pins on its door.
BAR 1661 Experiences, intimate sessions led by founder Dave Mulligan and his passionate team, allow guests to discover why the attention of the global bar industry has turned to a small corner of Dublin’s northside.
Held inside its adjacent cocktail factory just off Capel Street, ‘We Call This Power’ Experiences take a deep dive into how the 1661’s iconic serves are made, and celebrate the partner businesses, brands and most of all people that make BAR 1661 what it is today.
Through a curated journey of flavour, story, and craft, these unique events pull the curtain back on the process, inspiration, and innovation that define the Dublin venue’s unique approach to modern Irish cocktails.
The cocktail equivalent of a fine dining tasting menu, guests can expect an interactive, informative and convivial experience, all taking place around a shared island.
There are some limited tickets left for the Winter 2025 festive season with the final event on 20 December.
Extremely limited to just ten seats per session, taking place from 7-10.30pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Priced at €165 per person, tickets for this innovative concept are available now from https://shop.bar1661.ie/collections/experiences and would make a one of a kind gift for any bon vivant.
For those who want to take a little bit of BAR 1661 home with them, the bar’s iconic Belfast Coffee (700ml, €30) is also available to buy from BAR 1661’s online shop as well as Bán poitín (700ml, €55; 200ml, €20; 100ml €12.50, 50ml, €6.50) as well as Bán Cocktail Cask Limited Edition (700ml, €75).
Gift vouchers are also available and redeemable both in the bar and against BAR 1661 Experiences.
BAR 1661 is located on a quiet corner overlooking St Michan’s Park just off Capel Street in Dublin 7.
A central spot just off the beaten track it offers a warm welcome away from the Christmas crowds.
BAR 1661 is open for regular Christmas hours over the festive period, where guests can expect the same excellent service, and are always guaranteed a seat when they make a booking via www.bar1661.ie. For more information follow @1661bar on Instagram.
