History of Miodula

Who now, after so many years, is able to tell without doubt the history of the creation, development and distribution of Miodula around the world? Today we know that the origin of this liquor is connected with the history of the Cieszyn region. In the 5th century BC, these lands were inhabited by people of the Lusatian culture, who centuries later were replaced by the Scythians arriving from Asia, and later the Celts.

During the reign of the Piast dynasty, the Duchy of Cieszyn was established. This was once the most easterly part of Silesia. People gladly settled in this region, and it is not hard to understand why: the mountain, much later called Zamkowa (Castle), was already attracting attention in the 2nd century BC. High up above the river, safe. And the dense forests that surrounded it ...

The settlers nearby, living mainly by hunting and gathering, knew that it was worth making friends with bees. Some strange instinct led them to take honey out of tree trunks; this tasted delicious but also healed wounds. Surely the first Miodula was drunk by our ancestors. They used it as sweet, honey, healing syrup, mixed with pure spring water.
When years later the Habsburg kings ruled over these lands, Miodula became more refined. Not so much due to the house of rulers known to European history, but more because of the traditions that had been cherished by local people for centuries. It was under the Habsburgs that more and more new manor farms and mills were established, and distilling also developed. Distilling! Miodula rose to dominance. And that's how it would remain …

It may have been just then, in 1772, under the reign of His Majesty Joseph II, that Miodula obtained the distinction of being an Imperial-Royal beverage. If this is so, then we may be free to say that it came out of peasant huts, where it was drunk not only to heal fevers, but also to sooth any worries - and reached the chambers of the aristocracy. In old chronicles of the imperial-royal monarchy, notes may be found saying that the emperor fortified himself with Miodula, "whenever he got angry because of the empress, or returning from a hunt and moaning like an injured animal, demanded that the servants give him Miodula."

Drinking it allowed one to "drive away bad thoughts and take on better ones, while lightening up the face" - as Mr. Zagłoba said - the same one who with Mr. Wołodyjowski, resisting the Swedes or Tartars, used to drink Miodula during moments of rest. With time, spirits and aquavita appeared on our ancestors' tables. The former, because "it makes the face glow," the latter taking its name from the French: eau de vie.

Meanwhile, Miodula kept going strong and didn't merely follow fashions.

Who drank it in former times? Everyone! When autumn arrived, the worst kind with rain, when a lot of snow fell - then Miodula was enjoyed in manor houses. But there was also plenty of it in peasant huts. Knowing a friendly bee-keeper was the first step to success. He could choose the best honey at the right time, then pour alcohol over it and keep it in oak barrels - these were the best and others weren't known at the time. And that's how Miodula was made to be tasty and go down easy…

Certainly even then fortunate people asked themselves: what would Miodula go best with? With red meat, such as roast boar or leg of venison, or better with fish? Or maybe it would go better with dessert? There can be only one answer: "Just like champagne is free to do what it likes - as the French say, drinking it with white meat and fish, and also with dessert - so Miodula can also go with anything."

But how can that be? - certain people will object. It's a sweet liquor based on honey. With everything? For everybody?

Yes, indeed! It's so functional because it serves everything and everyone! That's its big advantage. Try some, sipping it lightly and not paying attention to the colour. Miodula must be sticky like bees' honey and tart like the taste of oak casks. After imbibing, it spreads nicely around the throat and wanders on further. That's what our Miodula from the Cieszyn lands is like.
It's been asked if it goes with coffee, since it was "Turczyn who brought it to us." And how! For coffee it's the best. We got used to drinking coffee, and we've always had Miodula.
Connoisseurs claim that among sweet wines, there are none that can compare to those such as Sherry from Spain or Madera and Porto from Portugal. In the Apennine region the best is vermouth, and in the Balkans excellent wines are produced. Miodula, on the other hand, comes from the South of Poland: from the area of Cieszyn, Skoczów, Szczyrk, Bielsko-Biała.

How nice it is that the world has found out about it!

Miodula. It's a shame to admit in good company that one doesn't know it. Its history is simple, hard as an oak barrel, sweet as the local honey and pure as the water from the local springs.

Such times are coming, that wherever you go
and ask about Miodula, everywhere you'll hear the question:

- „Miodula? From around Cieszyn?”
- That's the one. There is no other.