It was a time of high refinement, honour and patriotism in Poland. King Augustus III presided over the royal court. Respected throughout Europe, the Polish nobility were renowned for their culture, good taste and, most of all, their extravagant hospitality. Particularly, when it came to their favourite vodka. The Royal Decree of 1572 had given the nobility exclusive rights to distill and sell vodka. The distilleries were managed by local elders who were entrusted with developing and perfecting the finest vodkas for their noble’s table. Thus came about a great dynasty of distillers throughout the kingdom. In 1743, deep in Southern Poland at the slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, this particular group of elders discovered that the secret of fine vodka was determined by a unique five-step distillation process using sweet, late-harvest rye from the nearby Wielkopolska fields. This gave a softer, mellower taste than traditional grains. They combined the superb distillate with water from a nearby mountain spring which was exceptionally pure and soft. The careful blending of the distillate with this water produced Pravda – the smoothest vodka ever produced