Podole Wielkie Okowita Jęczmień 2023 is a Polish grain spirit from the Pomeranian agricultural distillery Podole Wielkie, made from a single variety of barley and bottled at 43% ABV. The 2023 vintage was created from Concerto barley harvested from the "Za ogrodami" field, grown on clay soil. Concerto is a well-known and highly regarded brewing variety.
The distillery operates according to its own philosophy of production. The high-proof spirits of Podole Wielkie are created in a traditional, family-run agricultural distillery with over 160 years of history, part of a farm that has existed here for 500 years. The farm is located in Pomerania, 20 km from the Baltic coast. The producer describes itself as the only one in Poland and one of the few in the world to make spirits from raw materials grown by its own hands. This "from field to bottle" principle means full control over every stage – from sowing to hand bottling.
The method of production is what distinguishes okowita from ordinary vodka. The harvested raw materials are fermented and then distilled slowly, without haste, in a bulbous copper column. Podole Wielkie spirits contain no additives and are unfiltered. The finished distillate is bottled and labelled by hand, and all products are created in limited editions – each product is one year captured in a bottle. This approach results in variation of flavour depending on the year, the field or the variety, which is why Podole Wielkie spirits are vintage-dated, and the philosophy behind their production is analogous to the French concept of terroir.
In the profile of the 2023 vintage, spicy and roasted notes come to the fore. The spirit strikes with an intense aroma, which on the palate unfolds into spicy flavours enriched with coffee and cocoa, while the finish is long, with notes of cocoa and dark chocolate. The producer recommends tasting these spirits together with food – from classic dishes such as steak tartare to discovering your own flavour pairings. The version in a tube is packaging intended as a gift or for a collection.