Vodka for a Polish Wedding

Hello everyone,

Hoping I can get a few opinions on a suitable wedding vodka as I am getting married in Kraków next year. I've been told that tax increases from Jan 1st so looking to buy before that.

I wouldn't be a seasoned vodka drinker so not overly familiar with what's good and bad. I've tasted the likes of Zubrowka, Wyborowa, Pan Tadeusz, but brands like Bialy Bocian have been mentioned to me but with mixed reviews.

Basically I'm looking for something that isn't ridiculously priced, but also doesn't kill my guests!

Thanks

Hmmm, few years ago Krupnik seemed to be in fashion and not too expensive.

Never had that one. Must source a bottle and sample it. Thanks.

I spoke of real natives, that are nigh exterminated. Flaming water didn`t help them. But frankly, they didn`t have vodka

@carkbiy
Honestly speaking, I can't really tell the difference but some brands worth mentioning :
Sobieski - a friend of mine in London loved it.
Żołądkowa gorzka - some say it doesn't give you a hangover the next day.
Biały bocian - something new definitely, saw it at a party last month.

Neither can I most of the time. Only difference was with Czech wòdka- oh god, that wac vile

@Lenka
I never drink czysta -sometimes with orange juice but I prefer other spirits.

Well, when I do drink czysta I become entertainment for my friends- apparently I make a very funny face after I drink the shot. I must say that while I generally prefer other alcohols, wòdka has its good points. 'Długie Polaków nocne rozmowy' are done best with clear wòdka.

I am not a spirit drinker.
Maybe a glass for Christmas or New Year.
I do like some whiskies and bourbons and even brandy.
But to be honest, wodka has always left me cold.
I know, this is terrible coming from an ethic Slav....... but they all taste the same to me... of nothing!
The only one I could discern a taste from was Zubrowka.

Which kind of bimber do you prefer?

@Lyzko

What the hell is a bimber?

how does a Polish person not know bimber?

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimber

A friend was recently at a wedding and received a bottle Stumbras (which is actually Lithuanian but supposedly very good)

At another wedding the vodka handed out to guests had.... labels for that wedding (a tradition in that part of Poland).

Easy I didn't until six years ago when I came to live in Poland.

Closest we had in the UK was under the counter spiritus and water.

I'm not Polish at all but I'd heard of it (with the name bimber) before my first visit to Poland... mumble mumble years ago.

American education for the win!

Bimber ("Fusel" in German, "moonshine" in AmericanLOL) is such strong stuff, it tastes almost like rubbing alcohol:-)
Hungary has her "palinka", Mexico, "aguardiente", Italy, "grappa", same thing, just a different name!

No, those are all commercially available and regulated alcoholic beverages bimber is like moonshine, by definition homemade and unregulated.

Good point, Maf! I oughta have quit while I was ahead.

That's really nasty my Italian mate keeps trying to convert me , no way jose

I prefer the cyrpus equivalent zivania/zivana, the only grappa type drink I actually enjoyed...

Just like Dolno said.
Maybe it was not an idea brought over by our parents, or maybe it was bigger in Communist times.
I don't know.
As I said, I am not a great fan of spirits and until tonight have never heard of it.
Doesn't even sound Polish!

I agree but it is huge here every party someone brings bimber, worst is the walnut stuff, whats wrong with mixing spiritus with cherries
Thats the best kombination, Wiśniówka the top job.

The diaspora are urban. Bimber is rural.

Nahh my family were top burraki rural, they and others in our uk Polish community ever mentioned bimber, but I guess I will bow to your superior knowledge when it comes to all things polish.

Thank you.


Remember that Bimber isn't quite respectable. Not hard to imagine people not talking about it.

Cherry brandy is popular in other countries as well. I agree with you though, dolno, the one time I had it:-)

Not quite the same as Wiśniówka (of which there are different types anyway). Wiśniówka is a cleaner and more cherry-tasting drink.

Thanks, jon. S'ppose I just forgot.....again:-)

If you get a chance to try a Wiśniówka made from sour cherries, it's worth it. It wouldn't be the main drink served at a wedding, though.

Wyborowa is a decent vodka and OK to serve anywhere.

Thanks again.

Sounds a heck of a lot like a Hungarian liqueur-type beverage, meggyek(??), if I recall off the top of my head.

In origin, but in the PRL lots of people made it in cities as well.


That's probably more the case, though some respectable-ish people in the PRL... dabbled (I heard about it because my university teacher's brother made it)