Na Zdrowie! Paczki Day Vodka Is Back February 1st

Although there's no connection, here's a Michigan-made product that maybe doesn't exactly fall under the strict definition of pure Michigan, in that half the product comes from Poland, but the other half is from Hamtramck, and, in that vodka is distilled, there is an element of purity, too. So here it is, back for a second year, after selling out its limited stock last year, Paczki Day Vodka.

Detroit City Distillery’s limited-edition Pączki Day Vodka returns with sales online starting on Monday, February 1. Bottles of this craft polish potato vodka distilled with dozens of raspberry pączki from the historic New Palace Bakery of Hamtramck are $30 each. There, customers can collect spirits curbside outside DCD’s Tasting Room at 2462 Riopelle Street in Detroit’s Eastern Market. The distillery says customers may also purchase the spirit at select liquor stores while supplies last. DCD's website says some of their products are sold at Meijer stores, but doesn't specifically say this product, so ordering online and a road trip to Eastern Market in Detroit might be the plan.

Here's the story of how it came to be. In a release, Detroit City Distillery says "in early February 2017, Steve Orzechowski, a distiller at Detroit City Distillery was eagerly anticipating the upcoming annual tradition of celebrating Pączki Day with his friends and family in Hamtramck (a local Polish enclave). This is where Orzechowski had the inspiration to combine the two. As it says "why not distill vodka with pączki? He purchased twelve-dozen pączki from the legendary New Palace Bakery, and the experiment began."

“I made Pączki Day Vodka because I wanted to capture the essence of the Hamtramck Pączki Day party in a bottle. I thought it’d be a fun way to honor my Polish heritage and create a small-batch spirit we shared with our closest friends and family. But, as more and more people tried it and loved it, and the requests came pouring in, we realized we’d created something very unique. It’s a real honor to create something that the community has made part of the celebration and the camaraderie of the day.” - Steve Orzechowski

Sales begin February 1st, and Paczki Day 2021 is Tuesday, February 16th.