History

Tatra Balsam is a series of herbal liqueurs the basis of which comes from the well-known recipes of the foothills region of the Tatras and are linked to the long-term tradition of homespun medicinal liqueurs.

We make our products according to age-old recipes for homemade medicinal liqueurs, perfected over the centuries, using typical extracts of alpine herbs, seasoned with a variety of ingredients to refine the flavour.

Pieniny National Park is situated in the shadow of the towering peaks of the Tatra Mountains. It is the smallest of the national parks in Slovakia, but also one of the most magnificent. The Pieniny territory was declared a national park in 1967, but in fact today’s Pieniny territory, together with the Pieniny National Park in Poland, was declared Europe’s first international park, with headquarters in Červený Kláštor, in 1932. 

Červený Kláštor is rich in history, and one of its most notable residents was the monk Cyprián, who lived in the local monastery. He arrived at the monastery in 1756 as an experienced international healer/physician, druggist, and botanist. The local monks established a pharmacy on the ground floor of the monastery, which from 1756 was managed by the famed ‘wound healer’ Cyprián – he practised medicine with herbs, tinctures, and teas, but he could also set fractures. It was his reputation that resulted in the pharmacy being known far and wide, and the people called him ‘doctor of a thousand sciences’. This pharmacy is still thought to have been one of the oldest in Europe. 

Cyprián’s life work was his Guide to Herbs, published in 1766; it is a very rare work indeed. The book is enveloped in a dark hide and contains a collection of 283 various herb specimens. The name of each specimen is printed in Latin, German, Greek, Polish, and Slovakian. Cyprián recorded all of his knowledge about illnesses and his treatment procedures. A technology similar to the one used by Cyprián to process herbs is used in the production of Tatra Balsam liqueurs. Even today, herbs are gently macerated in alcohol to obtain extracts that create a harmony of flavours, aromas and, above all, the identity of Tatra Balsam liqueur.

Liqueur production has a long tradition in the North Spiš region and is associated with the liqueurs produced by the Morgenbesser family,  such as Hokejka liqueur. If anyone wonders how a company that dares to say customer satisfaction and health are of utmost importance for them, and yet produces alcoholic beverages (liqueurs), it should be noted that the production of quality herbal liqueurs was once the sole domain of pharmacists and practically every pharmacy had its own liqueur or elixir speciality.