Bieszczadzkie Smaki (Smolnik k. Komańczy)

In olden times nalevkas (Polish: nalewka, a traditional Polish herb and fruit vodka) were the pride and traditional drink of noble mansions, farmhouses and the homes of burgesses. This great tradition is cherished at the Bieszczady farm of Wiesława and Bogdan Ablewski and their children, Tomasz, Ryszard and Agata. The Bieszczadzkie Smaki (Tastes of Bieszczady) family shop is located in an old timber Lemko house called chyża, by the fast Osława river in Smolnik. Not only nalevkas are available here, but also superb bread, a wide range of syrups, and excellent honeys.

However, nalevkas are particularly memorable, and not so much because of their alcohol content, but the skilfully chosen ingredients and perfect preparation of the product, into which the owners put a lot of care, effort and heart. Here, visitors can taste excellent nalevkas prepared with a variety of herbs: coltsfoot flower, dandelion, wild garlic, sweet yellow clover, stinging nettle, purdy mallow, mullein, comfrey, yarrow, blueberry, St. John's wort, and white dead-nettle. They are excellent for improving health and humour.

The same effect is produced by regional nalevkas, in which one can discover tastes and flavours typical of the Bieszczady mountains: tarninówka (with sloe), bzianka (with elderflower), nostrzykówka (with yellow melilot), pokrzywówka tradycyjna (traditional, with nettle), pokrzywówka zielona (green, with nettle), “sosnowe igiełki” (with pine needles), “bieszczadzki smolarz” (smoky), and “bieszczadzka wróżka” (absinthe).

Nalevkas are sold in Smolnik, house no. 9, and at stalls in Wola Michowa no. 7, Dołżyca no. 17 near Cisna, at the Bieszczady Railway Station in Majdan, and in an online shop.

Wiesława and Bogdan Ablewscy also organize fascinating demonstrations and workshops on baking sourdough bread, which enjoy great popularity among tourists. With their work, passion and dedication they revive culinary traditions, both those with old Polish roots, local ones, as well as those brought with them from their family region in Wielkopolska, which they left in 2010 to pursue their dreams and deep interests in a new, Bieszczady homeland. Anyone who wants to discover the traditional and contemporary tastes of the Bieszczady should stop at one of the outlets offering excellent liquors from this distillery, or best visit the amazing Ablewscy family in Smolnik and feel the special atmosphere they have created there.