Польская ликёро-водочная династия Бачевских

Polish liquor producer

J. A. Baczewski was a Polish company best known for its fine spirits such as vodka and gin. The factory, dating back to the late 18th century, was based in Lwów (Lviv) and until 1939 was one of two most popular Polish export goods.

In 1782 a distillery run by the Baczewski family was founded in Wybranówka, a small suburb of the city of Lwów, capital of Galicia, then part of the Habsburg monarchy, now Lviv in Ukraine. It is recognized as the oldest Polish distillery. Its two flagship products were Monopolowa and Perła. After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War of 1939, the factory was bombed by the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Lwów. After the city was seized by the Soviet Union, the remnants were levelled to the ground and an emery paper factory was built in its place. However, the brand continued to live as a synonym of quality. Its popularity was maintained by many notable writers and poets of the epoch, including Marian Hemar and Feliks Konarski (Ref Ren). Last bottles of Baczewski's spirits were sold for huge prices even 30 years after the war.

After the Second World War, Eduard Gessler, the owner of the "Altvater Gessler" company in Vienna, Austria, distantly related to the Baczewski family, reacquired the J. A. Baczewski mark. Under Eduard Gessler’s guidance, Gessler and J. A. Baczewski united under the combined name "Altvater Gessler J. A. Baczewski", with its principal place of business in Vienna, Austria. The reconstituted company continued to specialize in quality alcoholic products for domestic consumption in Austria and for export to various countries in various continents, to include Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, most notably the United States. Its centuries old reputation and record of quality led to its being selected as the only representative of the Austrian liquor industry at the International World Fair in Chicago in 1950. Eduard Gessler was responsible for the reintroduction of J. A. Baczewski Vodka "Monopolowa". Monopolowa is a distinctive potato vodka, produced of a traditional formula, imbued with a distinct intensity, smoothness, depth of flavor and complexity of character, all attributable to a “back to basics” tradition of being distilled from potatoes. (Vodka, native to Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, as well as Russia, was traditionally assumed to be made from potatoes. Presently, most other vodkas are produced from grain.) Following Eduard Gessler’s death in 1979, his son Elek Gessler consolidated the affairs of both traditional companies into one new legal entity in 1980, which to this day is known as "Altvater Gessler J. A. Baczewski GmbH”, an Austrian corporation. In 1983, Elek Gessler established "Altvater Gessler J. A. Baczewski International (USA) Inc.", a New Jersey corporation, to manage United States operations. To this date, both companies are owned solely by the Gessler family. After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, the Starogard Gdański based branch of the Polmos company started to produce several of J. A. Baczewski's products under license from Altvater Gessler J. A. Baczewski International (USA) Inc. However, in the late 1990s the license was terminated and production in Poland was halted. To this date the "J. A. Baczewski" trademark is owned by Altvater Gessler J. A. Baczewski International (USA) Inc.