Na Zdrowie! Vodka Tasting in Gdańsk

Vodka used to be my drink of choice for a Saturday night kitchen disco in my 20s, but this would be more of the Smirnoff variety (after payday) or supermarket variety (before payday). But I’m not much of a vodka drinker these days. So during our trip to Gdańsk, it was the perfect opportunity to find out more about Poland’s national drink. So we took the opportunity to learn from an expert and book a vodka tasting experience. Thankfully we also got to sample some Polish delicacies to soak up the alcohol. A very good idea at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon.

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We booked this excellent two hour vodka tasting via Get Your Guide. It’s not cheap at £66 per person, but for this we had 6 shots of vodka, a sharing platter of local bread, meat, cheeses and pickles and what turned out to be a private vodka tasting experience.

Meeting Monika, our vodka guru

Our first contact with Monika is a message asking if we could move our booking forward a couple of hours. We’re quite flexible with our schedule so we’re happy to oblige. Our meeting point is at Piwnica Rajców on Długi Targ, just a short stroll from our hotel. Piwnica Rajców is a restaurant and brewery housed in a 15th century building, better known for its craft beer brewed onsite than it’s vodka.

We make our way through the entrance, festooned with a big festive red ribbon. The host points us in the direction of the vodka tasting table. It quickly becomes clear why Monika had moved the time. We are her only guests today. Me, Mr Fletche and Eeyore (who hates to miss out on a vodka-drinking opportunity). We assured Monika that he was of drinking age. This is how it turned out:

There are introductions but clearly its not going to take long introducing me and Mr Fletche to each other. So we’re soon launching into the main event. Vodka. There’s a platter of locally sourced meat, cheese, bread and pickles, and Monika gives us instructions on how to get the very best tasting experience and tantalise the taste buds.

Exploring Poland’s relationship with vodka

Polish vodka was first mentioned in historical texts way back in the 8th century, giving rise to the claim that it is the country in which it was invented. A claim regularly argued against by Russia. Used for medicinal purposes, it didn’t become a widespread beverage until the 16th century. Most were distilled using rye until the introduction of potatoes from the New World in the early 19th century. For vodka to be designated a “Polish vodka”, all ingredients must be from Poland, including the water, and distilled in Poland.

Poland’s communist era and the rise of the solidarity movement play a part in all stories of Gdańsk, and vodka is no different. Monika tells us about the shortages and rationing, about propaganda and censorship, and about the importance of community, Polish identity and cultural heritage.

We find out lots of fascinating facts about Polish culture during our vodka tasting experience. For example, to give Poles another legitimate excuse to drink vodka – as if they need one – everyone celebrates a “Name Day”. Mr Fletche has plenty to choose from, with his namesake Krzysztof saint’s day being 2nd March, 15th March, 25th July or 23rd September. Sadly there’s no Saint Emmalene, so I’ll take the closest as Emma, celebrating on 24th November or 28th December. Don’t forget my present. A bottle of vodka would be most appropriate.

The Main Event

Polish people traditionally drink their vodka well-chilled and straight-up. So we do as the Poles do. We sniff it, we swirl it around the glass. We take a sip, and then take some water. Finally. we knock back the remainder of the shot, following up with a morsel from the accompanying platter. And then we repeat the process another five times. During our 2 hour vodka tasting we get to sample the following:

J A Baczewski: One of the few Polish vodkas distilled from potatoes. The company was founded in Lwów (today Lviv in Ukraine) in 1782, and is recognised as the oldest Polish distillery. It has a smooth but distinctive taste, one for the purists and connoisseurs.

Żubrówka: One of the most popular Polish vodka brands, Żubrówka is imported internationally making it a recognisable name. We sampled both the original “Żubrówka Biała” and “Żubrówka Bison Grass”, flavoured with a blade of grass from the Białowieża Forest. I noticed the difference in taste immediately from the Baczewski. In Gdańsk, the Żubrówka Bison Grass is often served as a cocktail with apple juice, lemon and cinnamon. After sampling this at Jozef K I can confirm that this does indeed taste like apple pie.

If you want to find out more about where we drank in Gdańsk you can read more here!

Piwnica Rajcow’s own vodka: Better known for their beer production, this is our host venue’s foray into vodka. You can’t find this vodka in any shops so make sure you check it out if you’re dining at the restaurant.

Soplica: Another one of Poland’s oldest producers, Soplica are best known for their flavoured vodka liqueurs. With a shot each, we mixed and matched the quince (pigwawa) and hazelnut (orzech laskowy). At 28-30% ABV is notably less strong than some of the the others we’ve sampled.

Goldwasser: our final shot of the afternoon is Goldwasser, a 16th century Polish liqueur notable for the thin 23 karat gold flakes suspended in the liquid. Thankfully non-toxic to humans, Goldwasser was believed to have desirable medical properties. This one definitely packed an eyewatering punch after the slightly less potent previous shots. One of the best places to sample – and purchase – the original Danzig spirit is at Goldwasser Restaurant, overlooking the Motława river.

According to legend, the flakes of gold in Goldwasser are actually shards of Neptune’s trident! He got so tired of people throwing coins into his fountain that he struck it with his trident, breaking off tiny pieces that found its way into the city’s vodka supply.

Final (fuzzy) thoughts

I’d always been of the opinion that “all vodkas taste the same” but sampling them in this environment proves to me that not all vodkas are equal. The J A Baczewski is still my favourite, as it feels like vodka in its most pure – and yes, alcoholic – form. And we ended up purchasing a classy black bottle of Żubrówka Czarna at Duty Free.

It would have been understandable if Monika had cancelled our session given that we were her only customers. Yet she still committed to giving us a very thorough and interactive tour through Poland’s vodkas. She still incorporated the quizzes and fun elements that she would use with a larger group, instead pitting Mr Fletche and I against each other. A vodka-fuelled Mr & Mrs competition, if you will. At the end of the session, whilst Monika and I chatted about non-vodka related things, Mr Fletche popped out to the nearest ATM as the tip we originally planned to give seemed insignificant considering the wonderful afternoon she had given us. I wholly recommend this tour if you fancy adding vodka tasting in Gdańsk to your itinerary!

Na zdrowie!!