Soplica is one of the older brands of Polish pure and flavoured vodka, having been first produced in 1891 (in a factory that was opened in 1888).[1] Although the origins of vodka in Poland can be traced back to as early as the 8th century, Soplica is one of the older industrially produced brands of vodka in the country. Żubrówka, for example, is based on a much older recipe than Soplica (dating back to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), but exists as an industrially produced brand only since the 1920s.
History
The creator of Soplica vodka was Bolesław Michał Kasprowicz, who in 1888 founded the Fabryka Wódek i Likierów w Gnieźnie (Vodka and Liqueur Factory in Gniezno). The first bottle of Soplica was produced there in 1891,[1] as proven by the replica of the bottle that is held in the Muzeum Początków Państwa Polskiego w Gnieźnie (Museum of the Origins of the Polish State in Gniezno) to this day.[2] Kasprowicz was originally from the town of Czempiń in the Greater Poland Voivodeship.[3]