Absolut Vodka

THE STORY OF ABSOLUT GOES BACK TO 1879. THAT WAS THE YEAR WHEN THE SWEDISH “KING OF VODKA” LARS OLSSON SMITH STARTED MAKING HIS “ABSOLUT RENT BRÄNNVIN” – ABSOLUTELY PURE VODKA.

THE VODKA WAS PRODUCED USING A revolutionary new continuous distillation method, called “rectification”, a method that is still used today.

L.O. Smith was a prominent figure in the Swedish spirits trade in the late nineteenth century and was renowned for his extremely high standards. His quest for perfection led him to adopt a revolutionary new process called continuous distillation. With this, he was able to achieve his goal of producing what he called an absolutely pure vodka. He introduced his masterpiece in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, in 1879.

In the beginning, the vodka was produced in Lars Olsson Smith’s distillery on the island Reimersholmen, just outside the city limits of Stockholm. But today every drop of ABSOLUT Vodka comes from the distilleries near Åhus in southern Sweden. With its 10,000 inhabitants, it may not be big enough to show up on a world atlas, but the vodka distilled there is well known around the globe. Every drop of ABSOLUT VODKA consumed in the world comes from this one source.

From the hardy winter wheat that grows in the region, to water from their own deep well, Åhus provides the distillery with the raw material to produce the millions of bottles of ABSOLUT VODKA sold around the world.

Producing its vodka in one location using local ingredients gives ABSOLUT complete control over every stage of production and ensures that every drop meets their high quality standard. Even the famous ABSOLUT VODKA bottle, inspired by an eighteenth-century Swedish medicine bottle, is manufactured near the Åhus distillery and is made with special low-iron sand to ensure crystal clear glass.

Sweden, the home of ABSOLUT VODKA, is a sublimely beautiful country. There are no polar bears walking the streets. But they do have elks in the forests and reindeer roaming up north. Forests and mountains cover nearly two thirds of the land and a mere nine million people share thousands of lakes and a seemingly endless coastline. The long and cold winters, along with large distances, a small population, and an expansive wilderness offer challenges. Facing these challenges, Sweden has become one of the worlds most innovative, technologically advanced and environmentally responsible countries. A few examples of Swedish inventiveness include dynamite, the tetra pak, the ball bearing, the pacemaker, the computer mouse, the Celsius thermometer and the zipper, just to name a few.

Visitors from around the world come to share the country’s exceptionally accessible nature, including the famous midnight sun and the northern lights (aurora borealis). Swedes themselves appreciate all things natural; no wonder Sweden produces superb and natural vodka.

Every day about 600 tons of winter wheat arrives at the Nöbbelöv Distillery. ABSOLUT is Sweden’s largest food and beverage export, and to satisfy the world’s demand for ABSOLUT, 125,000 tons of winter wheat is harvested every year.

Farmers in Southern Sweden combine age-old tradition with the latest in agricultural technology to produce some of the finest winter wheat in the world. This winter wheat is what gives ABSOLUT its smooth, mellow character and distinct hint of grain. The wheat is grown in Skåne and comprises about 20% of the total harvest of wheat in this province. Suppliers must follow specific demands for minimising the negative effects of cultivation on the environment.

Sweden has one of the oldest vodka traditions in the world and it is no coincidence its roots are in southern Sweden, where the climate is ideal for growing winter wheat.

The several hundred farmers in southern Sweden contracted by ABSOLUT plant their wheat in September and October and it germinates and grows five to ten centimetres during the mild months of fall. When the frost sets in, the wheat stops growing and lies dormant all winter. In the spring, the wheat continues to grow – but now at an accelerated pace. The winter wheat being planted this fall will be harvested in August next year and used to produce next year’s supply of ABSOLUT. The 600 tons of local winter wheat that arrive at the Nöbbelöv distillery every day are cleaned and milled in hammer mills that can process up to 18 tons of wheat per hour.

Water is the other key ingredient: Sweden is famous for its natural pure water sources, and the Åhus region sits on one of the largest underground aquifers

in the whole of Sweden. Water to blend ABSOLUT comes from Absolut’s own well in Åhus. The water from this artesian spring dates back as far as the Stone Age. The clean rains that fell over Åhus long before pollution many thousands of years ago, slowly trickled down through layer after layer of moraines and limestone. It was enriched on its way with healthy minerals and salts and eventually formed this artesian spring of perfectly clear water 200 meters below the ground. This is the only water Absolut ever use to blend to perfection.

The pure water that makes up about 60% of the content in every bottle of ABSOLUT has been filtered through layers and layers of pre-historic sand and ancient seabeds, a natural process that started 40,000 years ago. It is exceptionally pure, low in minerals and has a delicate character. By itself, it has a well-rounded mouth feel that contributes with the elegant taste and texture of ABSOLUT.

The milled wheat is mixed with the pure spring water to form a mash. An enzyme is also added (a biocatalyst), which helps the starch in the wheat to break down into sugar. For three hours the mash is heated to a maximum of 90˚ Celsius (203˚ Fahrenheit). The heat releases the starch from the wheat and speeds up the breakdown of starch into sugar. The heat and the long “cooking time” also helps kill any bacteria.

Before the fermentation process begins, the mash is chilled and poured into fermenters, which have a capacity of around 600,000 litres. Yeast is added at the same time. The yeast transforms the freed sugar into ethanol (alcohol). The mash ferments for two days; by then the sugar has been used up and the alcoholic content in the mash is 10%.

The fermented mash is pumped into the raw spirit distillation process. The alcohol that forms is distilled off and concentrated to 87% ABV – called raw spirit. On average the distillery at Nöbbelöv produces 150,000 litres of raw spirit every day, all year round.

The raw spirit is further distilled in order to achieve the correct purity. Continuous distillation implies that the spirit is distilled more than a hundred times in order to achieve the highest possible quality. This revolutionary method was introduced in Sweden by Lars Olsson Smith in 1879 and has been refined and perfected in the modern distillery at Nöbbelöv.

The last remnants of the fusel oil and other impurities disappear at this point, and after distillation the spirit is 96% ABV, now called fine spirit.

The entire process takes a little longer than three days. The fine spirit is stored in tanks for transportation by tanker trucks the short distance to Åhus.

Single Source vodka and purity is at the heart of what Absolut do. Every single bottle of ABSOLUT VODKA ever produced is made from premium winter wheat from the same rich fields in southern Sweden. The fresh water used during production always comes from their own spring in Åhus. This is their ONE SOURCE philosophy.

ABSOLUT VODKA, introduced in the US in 1979, is the fourth largest international premium spirit in the world and is the number one premium vodka in the world, available in 126 markets.

Since its launch, ABSOLUT VODKA has achieved significant worldwide sales growth, with some 600,000 bottles of ABSOLUT VODKA produced everyday just to keep up with demand.

When Absolut was launched in 1979, the Absolut bottle quickly gained pop culture status thanks to a striking shape and look that caught everyone’s attention. Inspired by a Swedish apothecary bottle, it was a design innovation. A new premium spirit, sans paper label, its name and logo printed directly on glass. Clear. Minimalistic. Bold. Artistic. Swedish.

It has become a globally recognised icon found all over the world and at the heart of some of the most memorable advertising campaigns and artistic collaborations of the last three decades.

Nothing represents the ABSOLUT VODKA image more than the bottle itself. In the 1970s, when the ABSOLUT VODKA team prepared to introduce the new product on the US market, they wanted an attractive, exclusive and distinctively different bottle to match the premium quality spirit inside. One of the first decisions had been to shorten the brand name Absolut rent Brännvin into ABSOLUT – a name that America and the world would be more likely to remember, relate to and, importantly, order from the bartender.

The shorter brand name also enabled a more striking logo and bottle design. Inspired by the shape of an old apothecary bottle in a Stockholm shop window, the team decided that the new ABSOLUT VODKA bottle should be as clear as the spirit itself, reflecting the clarity of the product. To make the bottle more distinctive, and the clear vodka more visible, they decided to skip the conventional paper solution and integrate the label into the glass itself. The designer team went back to the glass works where the original medicine bottle had been made. Together with the glass artisans they figured out how to produce the new ABSOLUT VODKA bottle. One important decision was to use low-iron sand to keep the glass absolutely crystal clear.

The integrated medallion, showing L O Smith, marks the commitment to and unbroken tradition of superior purity and quality. Starting with the campaign ABSOLUT PERFECTION in 1980, the bottle became the focus of more than 2.000 creative executions, each one reinforcing the brand’s position on the leading edge of popular culture.

From the very beginning, effective and distinctively different advertising has

been the hallmark of ABSOLUT VODKA. In 1980, their advertising agency “nailed” the idea of the perfect vodka with the very first ad – ABSOLUT PERFECTION. Since then some 2.000 (!) different ads have been produced based on the same core values and the same design approach.

The award-winning advertising and marketing campaign of ABSOLUT VODKA continues to break new ground in communicating the brand’s core values of clarity, simplicity and perfection. In 1999, the ABSOLUT VODKA advertising campaign was listed among the ten best advertising campaigns of the past century by Advertising Age.

Collaborations and Limited Editions from ABSOLUT are world renowned and have been in the form of global promotions, alternative bottle designs and city-inspired flavours.

Limited Editions enable Absolut to embrace a certain culture or topical behaviour. Popular Limited Edition releases have included Absolut Colours, Absolut Electrik & Absolut Mode. ABSOLUT has also collaborated with several artists over the years such as Andy Warhol, Baz Lurman and Spike Lee to name a few.

ANNA SCHREIL, THE ABSOLUT COMPANY PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AND VP OPERATIONS

Anna started at The Absolut Company in 2011 as the Head of Product Development and R&D. During her first four years she worked tirelessly with several projects and issues related to sustainability innovation and eco-design. Issues surrounding sustainability are very important to Anna as well as The Absolut Company. Anna brings the passion for these issues with her in to her new role as Production Director in Åhus. She will continue to work hard to further the progress in regards to sustainability and eco-design at The Absolut Company.

Anna has wide knowledge & experience in production, product development and supply chain management. Being Production director means supervising over more than 300 employees, the daily process and the development and production of Absolut Vodka - one of Sweden’s largest commodity exports. ❧

Tasting notes

ABSOLUT VODKA

Appearance: Crystal clear

Aroma: Pleasant, subtly sweet aromas with hints of grain

Flavour: A rich flavour, smooth and mellow with a distinct character of grain. Subtle sweetness on the finish with a medium bodied mouthfeel ABSOLUT ELYX

Appearance: Clear

Aroma: Clean, rich, rounded aniseed mixed with notes of fresh bread, light cereal and mellow spice

Flavour: Medium bodied, silky mouthfeel with a wave of aniseed garnished by nuttiness, fresh cereal and mellow spice, with a hint of dryness underlining pure balanced richness. Rounded, with fresh nuttiness and a clean, warm, smooth finish

Signature serves

SWEDISH MULE

Glass: Collins

Ingredients: 30ml Absolut Vodka Top with Ginger beer Squeeze of Fresh lime

Garnish: Lime wedge

Method: Top Absolut with ginger beer and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime COSMOPOLITAN

Glass: Martini

Ingredients: 30ml Absolut Citron 15ml Triple sec 10ml Fresh lime juice 45ml Cranberry juice Squeeze of Fresh lime

Garnish: Orange slice

Method: Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass ELYX STARTINI

Glass: Cocktail

Ingredients: 45ml Absolut Elyx 15ml Lillet Blanc Star anise

Garnish: Star anise

Method: Stir Absolut Elyx with Lillet Blanc with ice and garnish with star anise