When the predecessors of today's Polmos were being born, Bielsko-Biała was still made up of two towns separated by the Bialka River, one belonging to Silesia, and the other to Malopolska Region. Both were renowned distilling centres. As early as 1827, Biala witnessed the establishment of Stock's Distillery of Vodkas, Cognacs and Vermouth (Fabryka Wodek, Koniakow i Vermouthu), while the Silesian Bielsko enjoyed the existence of the Distillery of Superior Vodkas and Liqueurs - Jerzy Jenkner & Co. (Fabryka Najprzedniejszych Wodek i Likierow Jerzego Jenknera i Spolki). Stock produced mainly liqueurs and vermouths, distilled wines, and stored and bottled cognacs; Janker & Co. was famous for a wide range of liquors, including such brands as Markowy Starowin, Zytniowka Polska, Koniak Medicinal.

In 1924, Polish Spirit Monopoly was established, associating all spirit rectifiers in Poland. The monopoly had exclusive rights to produce unflavoured vodkas and trade in them and spirits. In March 1945, when The second world war was drawing to its end, an operational group of the communist Economic Committee entered both Janker's and Stock's plants, and began to prepare them for production of vodkas for the military. At the end of April 1945 production was started with 35 workers. Soviet authorities handed over the distilleries to the Excise and Monopoly Office in Bielsko. In October 1945 they were taken over by the regional office of the National Spirit Monopoly in Cracow. The nationalized plant was officially renamed as Plant of Flavoured Vodkas of the National Spirit Monopoly (Wytwornia Wodek Gatunkowych Panstwowego Monopolu Spirytusowego) in Bielsko, with a branch in Biala.

In mid-1946, production was started in rebuilt halls, with a new staff of 138 workers. The early technology was rather primitive, labour-consuming and onerous: bottles were immersed in wooden tubs and hand-cleaned with brushes. Bottling and capping were also done manually. After this initial period of technological difficulties, the plant started to develop rapidly at the beginning of the 1950s. In 1957, it launched the production of the kosher — Sliwowica Paschalna, supervised by Jewish congregation. The 1960s saw equally intensive development; the distillery became well known in Poland and abroad. Its showcase products at that time were Sliwowica, Krupnik, Advocaat, Jarzebiak, Soplica. As the first plant in Poland, it started to produce kosher vodkas, including Zytniowka, Nissovka, Travka and the already mentioned — Sliwowica Paschalna. In 1991, the Spirit Plant Polmos was transformed into the Silesian Plant of Flavoured Vodkas (Slaska Wytwornia Wodek Gatunkowych) in Bielsko-Biala. Owing to its technological investments, the Company has become a leading liquor producer in Poland, both in terms of quality and quantity.

In the second half of 1991 production of new vodkas was launched based on the recipes prepared by the plant laboratory.

The year 1998 was a turning point for the Company. Silesian Distillery of Brand Vodkas was the first in the alcoholic industry to develop a professional team supporting the sales and exposition of the products in retail shops, wholesalers, and supermarket networks. In September Silesian Distillery of Brand Vodkas started close co-operation with Bacardi Martini and was the first company in Eastern Europe to introduce the exclusive Eristoff Vodka to the Polish market. In October 1998 the Company was one of the first to become privatised and transformed into the Sole Shareholder Company of the State. With the division of the Polish-wide POLMOS brands, in July 1999 Silesian Distillery of Brand Vodkas POLMOS S.A. become the legal owner of the Extra Zytnia trademark. Owing to its technological investments, the Company has become a leading liquor producer in Poland, both in terms of quality and quantity.

Distance: factory located 90 km away from Cracow
Duration of the tour including lunch: 7 – 8 hrs
Duration of visit and tasting: ca 1,5 hour