Abstract
The paper presents the introduction to problems related to the distilling industry in Poland and its current situation. The theoretical issues related to the production of ethyl alcohol are discussed. The raw materials used and their impact on production efficiency, process steps and their conditions and quality requirements for alcoholic beverages based on ethanol are characterised. The main causes of the problem of distillery in Poland are seen in the import of cheap rectified and dehydrated spirits from other EU countries, which results in a fall in market prices that do not provide for reimbursement of production costs and increase of excise duty in 2014, which significantly contributed to the closure of the distillery. At present, there are around 100 of them in the country, most of which are made of distillates for bio ethanol production.