The Polmos Łańcut

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

is one of the oldest producers of

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

s and

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

s in Poland. A small amount of the distillery's output is exported to Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States.

History

The distillery in Łańcut was founded by Duchess Lubomirska on the vast estate of the

Lubomirski The House of Lubomirski is a Polish princely family. The Lubomirski family's coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, which is similar to the Szreniawa coat of arms but without a cross. Origin and the coat of arms The Lubomirski fa ...

family. An original document attesting to the distillery's existence in 1784 can be found in its museum. Primarily the

Łańcut estate Łańcut (, approximately "wine-suit"; yi, לאַנצוט, Lantzut; uk, Ла́ньцут, Lánʹtsut; german: Landshut) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship ...

produced regular, anise flavoured and sweetened vodkas. Count Alfred Wojciech Potocki, a grandson and heir of the Duchess, started to run the Łańcut and Lwów Lubomirski estates in 1823. He modernised the management of these properties, and implemented the Schwartz distillation equipment. The production of premium vodkas, liqueurs, creams and

ratafia Ratafia is a broad term used for two types of sweet alcoholic beverages, a flavouring essence whose taste resembles bitter almonds, later to a ratafia flavoured biscuit, a biscuit to be eaten along with ratafia, and later still, to a cherry var ...

s was started, in addition to regular and anise flavoured vodkas. The estate ran two company outlets in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

and Vienna. In 1882

Alfred Józef Potocki Count Alfred Józef Potocki (, 29 July 1817 or 1822, Łańcut – 18 May 1889, Paris) was a Polish aristocrat (szlachcic), landowner, and a liberal-conservative monarchist Austrian politician and Prime Minister. Early life Count Potocki was bor ...

created a network of agents to promote sales in

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

and Austria-Hungary. Trains of the Viennese rail lines passing through the town of Łańcut used to make longer stops to allow travellers to buy the distilleries' famous products. In 1900, ''Count Alfred Potocki's Distillery'' won a gold medal at the International Exposition in Paris for his array of products. Between 1911–1912

Roman Potocki Count Roman Potocki (16 December 1852 – 24 September 1915) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic) and politician. Early life Count Roman was born on 16 December 1852 at Łańcut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, in what was then a part o ...

moved the plant to a newly equipped building. Some of the buildings were destroyed with the eruption of World War I. The difficulties were helped by establishing a stock company in 1917. In 1924 the

State alcohol monopoly An alcohol monopoly is a government monopoly on manufacturing and/or retailing of some or all alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and spirits. It can be used as an alternative for total prohibition of alcohol. They exist in all Nordic countr ...

was funded in Warsaw. Łańcut distillery managed to hold its position among the best companies in the country thanks to investments in equipment and innovations. The plant survived the outbreak of World War II largely intact, but it suffered major destruction in 1944 from the withdrawing German armies and advancing Russian units. In 1951 a state enterprise called ''Łańcut Spirits Industries'' was created out of the ''Łańcut Spirits Stock Company'' and ''Count Alfred Potocki's Privileged Distillery of Liqueurs, Rosoglios and Rum in Łańcut''. In 1969 the plant was producing fifteen kinds of unflavoured and flavoured vodkas, about 200,000 bottles a day. In 1991 Polmos, the Polish Alcohol Monopoly was dissolved. The distillery became an autonomous state company. The previous product line was maintained: about sixty brands, including

Wyborowa Wyborowa (the feminine of the Polish adjective ''wyborowy'' 'fine') or Wódka Wyborowa is a brand of Polish vodka. The adjective was used in a favorable press article and then added after the word ''wódka'' 'vodka', resulting in the final name ' ...

Luksusowa Luksusowa Vodka ( pl, Wódka luksusowa) is a brand of vodka from Poland that is distilled from potatoes. The Polish word ''luksusowa'' means "luxury"; thus in English-language markets, it is also referred to as ''Luksusowa Luxury Vodka''. Luksuso ...

, Extra

Żytnia Żytnia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Siedlce, within Siedlce County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Siedlce and east of Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officiall ...

, Krakus, Polonaise, Jarzębiak, Soplica, Pieprzówka, Żubrówka, Wiśniówka and

Ratafia Ratafia is a broad term used for two types of sweet alcoholic beverages, a flavouring essence whose taste resembles bitter almonds, later to a ratafia flavoured biscuit, a biscuit to be eaten along with ratafia, and later still, to a cherry var ...

and also Polish Cherry and Cacao Choix liqueurs. Soon more than a dozen of own products was added to the brand assortment. Among others Łańcut vodka was introduced and the flag product of the old Potocki firm,

Rosoglio Rosolio is a type of Italian liqueur made from a base of alcohol, sugar, and water in the same proportion, which is flavored by adding an essence of any of various types. Despite a common misconception based on the name, rosolio has no direct co ...

s, was reintroduced.

Museum of Vodka Industry

The Łańcut distillery holds a museum portraying the plant's traditions and the history of the Polish vodka industry. The museum is located in a manor built in 1883, designed by Ludwik Boguchwalski, which once was the headquarters of the estate management. Its exposition contains old distilling devices, antique machinery as well as old documents, labels, bottles and tasting glasses.

Brands

* Soplica *

Biała Dama Biała Dama is an unflavored vodka produced by Polmos Łańcut. According to its producer it has delicate, unobtrusive aromatic note of neutral grain spirits. It contains 40% alcohol by volume. The vodka has a tradition of more than 200 years. ' ...

Ck vodka CK, Ck, or ck may refer to: Science and technology * Conductive keratoplasty, a type of refractive surgery * Creatine kinase, an enzyme * Cytokinin, a plant hormone * Cytokeratin (CK1 to CK20), keratin proteins * Cyanogen chloride, an inorgan ...

* Estate vodka * Harnaś Łańcut is a pure vodka produced by Polmos Łańcut form high quality

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

spirit rectified and filtered many times. According to its producer it has a mild and delicate taste and aroma which is obtained by the use of time-tested ingredients and careful processing. It contains 40% alcohol by volume. In 1995 it was granted a gold medal by International Fair POLAGRA in Poznań. It was also awarded with a silver medal and ranked 87 "Highly Recommended" points by the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago. ---- *

Polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

* Polonaise * Pro Polonia *

* Wisent

References

* Rogala, Jan. ''Gorzałka czyli historia i zasady wypalania mocnych trunków'', Baobab: 2004.

External links

Polmos Łańcut

Museum of Vodka Industry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polmos Lancut Distilleries Drink companies of Poland Polish brands Polish vodkas Polish liqueurs Anise liqueurs and spirits

History

Museum of Vodka Industry

Brands

See also

References

External links