Editing Vodka (section)

===Poland===

The world's first written mention of the word ''wódka'' was in 1405 from ''Akta Grodzkie'' [[recorder of deeds]],<ref name="KRPS">{{cite web|url=http://krps.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=27|title=History of vodka production, at the official page of Polish Spirit Industry Association (KRPS), 2007|language=pl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930131416/http://krps.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=27 |archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> in the court documents from the [[Sandomierz Voivodeship|Palatinate of Sandomierz]] in Poland.<ref name="KRPS" /> At the time, the word ''wódka'' referred to chemical compounds such as [[medicine]]s and [[cosmetics]]' cleansers. The production of [[liquor]] begins in the mid-15th century, with varied local traditions emerging throughout Europe, in Poland as vodka ({{langx|pl|wódka}} or {{lang|pl|gorzałka}}). In the 16th century, the Polish word for the beverage was ''gorzałka'' (from the [[Old Polish language|Old Polish]] verb ''gorzeć'' meaning "to burn"), which is also the source of Ukrainian {{Lang|uk|horilka}} ({{Lang|uk|горілка}}). The word written in [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] appeared first in 1533, about a medicinal drink brought from Poland to Russia by the Russian merchants.<ref name="KRPS" />

In these early days, the spirits were used mostly as medicines. [[Stefan Falimierz]] asserted in his 1534 works on [[herb]]s that vodka could serve "to increase fertility and awaken lust". ''Wodka lub gorzałka'' (1614), by Jerzy Potański, contains valuable information on the production of vodka. Jakub Kazimierz Haur, in his book ''Skład albo skarbiec znakomitych sekretów ekonomii ziemiańskiej'' (''A Treasury of Excellent Secrets about Landed Gentry's Economy'', Kraków, 1693), gave detailed recipes for making vodka from [[rye]].
{| align="right"
|-
|[[File:Chopamerd.jpg|50px]]
|[[File:Wódka Wyborowa.jpg|105px]]
|[[File:ZBG-700 B.jpg|88px]]
|[[File:Luksusowa Vodka 700ml.jpg|80px]]
|- style="text-align: center;"
|[[Chopin (vodka)|Chopin]]
|[[Wyborowa]]
|[[Żubrówka]]
|[[Luksusowa]]
|}

Some Polish vodka blends go back centuries. Most notable are ''[[Żubrówka]]'', from about the 16th century; ''[[Goldwasser]]'', from the early 17th century; and aged ''[[Starka]]'' vodka, from the 16th century. In the mid-17th century, the ''[[szlachta]]'' (nobility of Poland) were granted a monopoly on producing and selling vodka in their territories. This privilege was a source of substantial profits. One of the most famous distilleries of the aristocracy was established by [[Elżbieta Izabela Lubomirska]] and later operated by her grandson, [[Alfred Wojciech Potocki]]. The Vodka Industry Museum, located at the park of the Potocki country estate has an original document attesting that the distillery already existed in 1784. Today, it operates as "[[Polmos Łańcut]]".<ref name="Polmos">{{cite web |url=http://www.muzeumgorzelnictwa.pl/museum.html |title=Count Alfred Potocki Factory Museum of Liqueurs, Rosolios and Rum |publisher=Polmos Distillery |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-date=26 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226213147/http://muzeumgorzelnictwa.pl/museum.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Vodka production on a much larger scale began in Poland at the end of the 16th century, initially at [[Kraków]], whence spirits were exported to [[Silesia]] before 1550. Silesian cities also bought vodka from [[Poznań]], a city that in 1580 had 498 working spirits distilleries. Soon, however, [[Gdańsk]] outpaced both these cities. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Polish vodka was known in the Netherlands, Denmark, England, Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, [[Romania]], [[Ukraine]], [[Bulgaria]] and the [[Black Sea]] basin.

Early production methods were rudimentary. The beverage was usually low-proof, and the distillation process had to be repeated several times (a three-stage distillation process was common). The first distillate was called ''brantówka'', the second was ''szumówka'', and the third was ''okowita'' (from ''aqua vitae''), which generally contained 70–80% ABV. Then the beverage was watered down, yielding a simple vodka (30–35% ABV), or a stronger one if the watering was done using an [[alembic]]. The exact production methods were described in 1768 by [[Jan Paweł Biretowski]] and in 1774 by [[Jan Chryzostom Pasek]]. The late 18th century inaugurated the production of vodka from various unusual substances including even the [[carrot]].<ref name="Wiwała">{{cite book | url=  | title=Od gorzałki do wódki – zarys historii polskiej wódki (History of Polish vodka) | publisher=Wydawnictwo Leon | author=Leszek Wiwała | year=2010 | isbn=978-83-928861-0-5}}{{page needed|date=February 2023}}</ref>

Though there was a substantial vodka cottage industry in Poland back to the 16th century, the end of the 18th century marked the start of real industrial production of vodka in Poland ([[Kresy]], the eastern part of Poland was controlled [[Russian Partition|by the Russian empire]] at that time). Vodkas produced by the nobility and clergy became a mass product. The first industrial distillery was opened in 1782 in [[Lwów]] by [[J. A. Baczewski]]. He was soon followed by Jakub Haberfeld, who in 1804 established a factory at [[Oświęcim]], and by Hartwig Kantorowicz, who started producing [[Wyborowa]] in 1823 at [[Poznań]]. The implementation of new technologies in the latter half of the 19th century, which allowed the production of clear vodkas, contributed to their success. The first rectification distillery was established in 1871. In 1925, the production of clear vodkas was made a [[Polish government]] monopoly.<ref name="Wiwała" />

After [[World War II]], all vodka distilleries were taken over by Poland's [[PZPR|Marxist–Leninist government]]. During the martial law of the 1980s, the sale of vodka was rationed. Following the success of the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] movement and the [[Revolutions of 1989|abolition of single-party rule in Poland]], many distilleries began struggling financially. Some filed for bankruptcy, but many were privatized, leading to the creation of various new brands.<ref name="Wiwała" />