A bottle of Frant’s Wildflower, a drink based on honey. Kalbar/TFN

Frant is a brand in the world of alcohol that many may not have heard of, but that, it appears, may not be the case much longer.

The Warsaw-based company founded in 2018 by Dorota Zylewicz-Nosowska has been making waves in the spirit world thanks to its original drinks based on Polish ingredients dashed with modern inspiration, which appeal to people who want something different.

“There is a need for a Polish product in those high-end restaurants, for people who want something that isn’t a mainstream product,” Zylewicz-Nosowska told TFN. “It is something new for people to taste, people who are visiting Poland are interested in trying something which isn’t available outside Poland.”

The basis of the first drink, made from wildflower honey, was produced by a family-run business specialising in honey-based products in the Warmian-Masurian region of Poland.

“This first one is not a vodka, this is okowita,” said Zylewicz-Nosowska. “This is closer to what you have when you distil fruit but it’s not sweet. Frant as a company is branded as ‘modern Polish vodka and spirits’ because we have a growing collection of different spirits.

Dorota Zylewicz-Nosowska, co-founder of Frant, has created an exclusive tipple that is gaining a reputation as something to be sought out.Kalbar/TFN

“You put honey in water, you warm it up but not boil it, and then ferment it for a few weeks and then you get mead,” she continued, explaining the production process behind the honey spirit. “Then we distil it, which is not the thing you’d normally do, it’s not the traditional way to treat mead, this was the innovation.”

A vodka would be distilled three to five times but Wildflower is just distilled the once. The spirit has a multifaceted taste that will be unfamiliar to most who consume it for the first time.

“It is with both the aroma and the taste,” Zylewicz-Nosowska told TFN. “This is why it works well with food and the gastronomy sector, it’s created for chefs as well. It’s full of character. It’s original but still easy to drink. It’s quite floral and fruity, but you wouldn’t associate it directly with honey at first. After you have drunk it, at the end, after it’s warmed up, that is when you can smell the honey.”

Along with producing an unusual and interesting drink the brand has a distinctive visual appeal created by co-founder Filip Pągowski, the son of legendary poster artist Henryk Tomaszewski.

'There is a need for a Polish product in those high-end restaurants, people want something that isn’t a mainstream product,' Zylewicz-Nosowska told TFN.Kalbar/TFN

“When I was looking into building the brand and thinking about what it should look like, I wanted something very Polish but not faux historical,” said Zylewicz-Nosowska. “I wanted something very colourful, like the Polish Poster style and Filip Pągowski’s work kept coming up. I reached out to him to see if he’d be interested in doing something for us. He was but he is very busy, he has a cult following in Japan and in Asia, New York as well. He likes the project and is involved in planning for the future.

“I wanted to present two worlds, Polish distilling heritage and then a product that isn’t what you’d expect from that category, that industry. I wanted to make something colourful and bright not just a mansion or countryside on the label. I wanted to combine those two worlds, people who enjoy modern design and art can find a product on the shelf that fits their aesthetics,” she added.

Filip Pągowski, co-founder of Frant and son of famous poster artist Henryk Tomaszewski, has attained cult status for his art in Asia.Tomasz Gzell/PAP

Frants’ careful cultivation of both its spirits and its brand has helped get its products in venues from five-star hotels to bars, and help it gain an international reputation despite it being not even a year old.

“I just came back from a great trade show in Paris, Cocktails Spirits 2019, where our first product was showcased as one of the hottest premiers of 2019,” Zylewicz-Nosowska told TFN. “This trip reassured us that we should stick to strictly Polish ingredients, Polish spirits. This is the way to go, not making Polish rum or gin.”