Poland

What is vodka?

The term vodka refers to spirits that mainly consist of water and alcohol. Usually, vodka is produced through the distillation of grains or potatoes; however, there are a few exceptions like the French brand Ciroc, which produces their vodka from grapes.

Almost all producers bottle their vodka with 40% alcohol content, since this is regarded as the ideal amount. To be regarded as “European Vodka”, a minimum of 37.5% is required.

The history of Polish vodka

Poland has an exceptionally long vodka tradition which goes back to medieval times. Indeed, the word vodka was first mentioned in court documents in the region of Sandomierz in 1405. There, the spirit quickly became a popular drink.

Interestingly, vodka was also used for “medicinal” purposes during this time: It was assumed that the alcoholic beverage led to an increase in fertility and libido. Although the spirit was already called vodka during this time, the different production methods and the resulting spirits often differed deeply from each other. Today we know that Polish vodka differed as much in colour, flavour and production from each other back then as Scotch whisky does today. 

In the 16th century, vodka production started increasing sharply in Poland. The vodka producers from Krakow and Poznan started exporting their spirits to Silesia. Soon afterwards, both cities were outpaced by Gdansk in the production of vodka. Subsequently, Polish vodka spread to Holland, Denmark, Germany, Austria, England, Bulgaria, Romania and the Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, many of Poland’s vodka brands come from this time.

With the beginning of the industrial revolution it was not only possible to produce vodka more efficiently and quickly, the new technologies also allowed the creation of much cleaner and purer spirits. All this contributed to the growing national and international success of Polish vodka.

In the beginning of the 20th century, the spirit industry in Poland changed fundamentally as it did in many other countries. In 1925, the production of vodka became a state monopoly and after World War II, all distilleries were taken over by the Marxist-Leninist government.

After the revolutions in 1989 and the collapse of the one-party-system, many distilleries struggled to survive in the free economy. Although many producers had to close, this didn’t mean the end of the Polish vodka market – quite the contrary: Thanks to the upheaval in the market, many new, innovative brands were established.

What special vodka brands from Poland exist?

The most popular Polish vodka brand is Belvedere. Belvedere vodka stands out for one special ingredient: The rare rye variety Dankowskie, which is exclusively grown in Masovia in the area around Warsaw. Besides Belvedere, there are many other interesting brands; for example Miodula Honey Vodka, Żubrówka, Goldwasser and Żołądkowa Gorzka. 

Polish vodka at Gustero

At Gustero, we offer a large selection of high-quality vodkas, including excellent products from Poland. Browse our selection and discover new worlds of vodka!