Absolut

Sweden
Taste
7
Aftertaste
6
Design
6
Price
8
6.8

the marketing

This is a review of Absolut vodka from Sweden. I sampled it in Germany in 2011. It’s clear, 40% alcohol, and I think it’s good for mixed drinks.

When I was working at Élysée Montmartre in Paris in 2003, we used to sell mainly one vodka brand, and it was called: Absolut vodka. I didn’t drink any alcohol at the time, so I never tried it.

But now, years later, I have embarked on my quest to find the best vodka ever. And so I got myself a bottle of Absolut vodka and gave it a try – for old times’ sake. And because I wanted to learn something.

the most epic marketing campaign

There’s a website called absolut.com – it’s designed around the brand’s blue color scheme, and it currently features a campaign centered around the end of the pandemic:

Absolut vodka site

from absolut.com on September 29th 2021

But this isn’t the marketing that Absolut vodka has become famous for.

Absolut vodka has been around in one incarnation or another since the 19th century. It was owned by the Swedish state until getting sold off in 2008 to Pernod Ricard (which also owns Wyborowa Exquisite vodka). After the brand Absolut vodka launched internationally in the late 1970s, they started commissioning artists like Andy Warhol to create artworks featuring the Absolut vodka bottle. This marketing campaign has been going on for decades, and it has yielded almost 1000 pieces of art:

Absolut vodka site

from absolut.com on September 29th 2021

Today, Absolut vodka is one of the biggest vodka brands on the planet. An unbelievable success.

the cleanness of Absolut vodka

Back to the review though. I thought Absolut vodka tasted okay: it went down easily. In fact it had a very clean taste. I guess the filtration must be pretty efficient. Sadly, it lacked aroma in the aftertaste.

The bottle design is nothing to get excited about, but it’s not bad, either. The price of around 14€ for 700ml was good.

more to try

I will try some of the different editions later on, including some of the fancy stuff like Absolut Elyx vodka and some of their infusions. But right now I can say this much about the original Absolut vodka: it’s pretty solid. It’s not fancy, but it’s good.

And because of the cleanness of its taste, I’d probably recommend it for mixed drinks.