FIRST JOURNEYS - EASTERN EUROPEAN EXPEDITION- PIN 06 OF 17
A ROAD TRIP WHERE EVERY STOP HAS A STORY
Buckle up - this one had me deep down a rabbit hole!
My next stop takes me to Zielona Góra, in western Poland, a city with a long wine-growing history and a rather good gin story of its own. Vineyards have been part of the landscape for centuries, and although the wine industry declined dramatically during the twentieth century, wine remains a big part of the city's identity.
Gin Lubuski arrived much later. The recipe was developed in 1986 at Polmos Zielona Góra by Elżbieta Gołdyka, with Grażyna Kwiatkowska also involved in its development, and the gin was launched in 1987.
The original recipe brought together juniper, marjoram, lavender and coriander and, according to the brand, has remained unchanged for almost four decades.
Marjoram is the botanical that catches my attention most.
Although it is not unique to Lubuski Gin, it is very familiar in Polish cooking, turning up in dishes such as żurek, soups, potatoes, beans and meat dishes. It is not an exotic botanical plucked from some far-flung corner of the world, but is among the ten most frequently mentioned seasonings in contemporary Polish cooking. It has also been recorded in Polish cookbooks and other culinary writings since the Middle Ages.
Marjoram wasn't just destined for the kitchen either. It has a long history in herbal medicine, with traditional remedies using it for everything from digestive troubles to coughs and colds. Even today, the European Medicines Agency recognises certain traditional medicinal uses for marjoram.
The branding and bottle design of Lubuski Gin have changed over the years, although the green glass and white label have remained part of its visual identity. The latest design, being rolled out during 2026, keeps those familiar elements while giving the bottle a more polished, contemporary look.
The glass is ribbed, with the texture intended to suggest tree bark or flowing water, while the label uses botanical illustrations and textured paper. The idea is to bring the gin's connection with nature and its forest-grown juniper into the packaging.
I'm all about bottle design and how it fits into the brand story, so, as you can imagine, the little copper-gold disc on the front caught my eye too. A sprig of juniper is embossed into the centre, putting the botanical quite literally at the heart of the design. I like that — juniper should be the star of the show!
I've not seen the bottle in real life yet, but the designers claim there is also a little number hiding at the bottom of the bottle: 1937.
Lubuski itself dates from 1987, so this clearly isn't the birth date of the gin. The designers describe the embossed year as a reminder of the brand's long history, calling it a significant turning point. I wasn't leaving it at that!
Digging into the history of spirits production in old Grünberg, now Zielona Góra, turned up an interesting possibility. Scharlachberg, a wine and spirits business with an operation in the city, underwent a significant restructuring in 1937, changing the legal structure of the business. Scharlachberg later became part of the Henkell portfolio, which is where the Lubuski story eventually leads.
I can't find the designers explicitly saying that 1937 refers to Scharlachberg, so I'm treating it as the most convincing connection I've found rather than a confirmed explanation. It's frustrating when a design leaves you hanging, but you can depend on me to go digging for some sort of realistic connection or explanation!
Then came the bit that really stopped me in my tracks. Somewhere along the way, I found a link to Freixenet! So, how does a Spanish cava lead me to a Polish gin?
The connection to Freixenet is actually quite simple - she says! The Polish company behind Lubuski today started life in Toruń in 1990 as VINPOL, a wine business that later expanded into spirits. Henkell acquired VINPOL in 2001, and Lubuski joined the portfolio in 2009. Henkell then acquired a majority stake in Spain's famous cava producer Freixenet in 2018, taking full ownership in March 2026. So the connection isn't that Freixenet owns a Polish gin. The same German group owns both. I'm sure I lost you along the way, but
A gin born in Zielona Góra, a Polish company with roots in the wine trade, a German owner and a connection to one of Spain's best-known cava producers. It's a long way from where this story started, but that's the fun of following a bottle. Eventually, all those twists and turns bring me back to the gin itself — Polish juniper, a touch of marjoram and a bottle with rather more history hiding behind it than I expected.
Inspired by the forests of western Poland, where wild botanicals, juniper and the landscape come together.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."