Tarpan Vodka, produced by the German company Drinks  & Food Vertreibs-GmbH in Germany, is marketed and sold in Great Britain as premium brand Polish vodka from the Masurian Lakes region.

The internet portal handel-net.pl claims that the vodka is not made in Poland at all and accuses the UK branch of the firm of false advertising.

“From market tests, we know that the British alcoholic beverage market has a place for premium Polish vodka,” stated Marc Charles, managing director of Drinks & Food UK Ltd. “Our clients connect good vodka with Poland and will thus pay more for a product that is of a higher quality,” he added.

Poland’s 24-hour news station, TVN24, maintains that the only thing that the vodka has in common with Poland is the label – which states “Made in Poland” and the website claims that Tarpan vodka is “made from the unique elixir of more than 3,000 undisturbed lakes of Masuria in the heart of Poland.”

Stella Bouchette, the German firm’s marketing spokeswoman denied claims made by the Polish press. She told thenews.pl that “the vodka is definitely produced in the factory ‘Tarpan’ in Szczytno in the Masuria region.” (mmj)