Let’s begin with a little joke – what’s blue, yellow and enjoys an Absolut-infused cocktail, or two? A bunch of Swedes celebrating the National Day of Sweden, obviously. The annual holiday is a big deal for Mother Svea and the infectious occasion has found its way to Cairo this week, as the Swedish Embassy prepares for its own celebrations with the help of premium vodka, Absolut.
For Sweden, the day marks two historical events and Absolut’s presence owes much to its own history. While it is now considered one of the premium spirits and names worldwide, the road to fame has been one full of twists, turns and quirks...
1879 – ‘Absolut Rent Brännvin’...
The beginning of Absolut. Despite mankind’s many technological advances in distillation, Absolut still uses the same distillation methods that were used by its founder, Lars Olsson (pictured on the seal of every bottle), in 1879.
The production process of Absolut is ‘One Source’ – it sounds fancy and it is fancy. What this means is that every single drop of Absolut come from the same type of wheat, uses water from the same well and even bottled at the same factory – all in the southern Swedish town of Ahus.
1978– The Bottle is Born...
As the Absolut name sat on the verge of exploding across the world, the packaging of the vodka came from an unlikely source. The iconic Absolut bottle was inspired by a vintage 18th century apothecary bottle found in a Swedish village – a bottle that would go on to be one of the most iconic images in pop culture and lay the foundations for the Absolut brand; cool, simple, clean, and quality.
1979 – Absolut Hits the Big Apple...
Absolut was first introduced to the US in 1979 and quickly became an icon on New York’s nightlife scene and was the tipple of choice for the artistic community in NYC.
1980 – The Big Media Debut...
The very first ad campaign in the US for Absolut in 1980 was pitched for by a bumper 94 ad agencies. The trademark, simple, stripped-down ‘look’ of Absolut ads was first conceived by Jeff Hayes – who, came up with the idea just hours before his pitch. We’re not sure if this is important, but he was taking a bath when he got his lightbulb moment.
1986 – Absolut Becomes a Warhol Darling...
In addition to being infatuated with the bottle as an artefact and immortalising it in one of his infamous silk prints, the prince of pop-art, Andy Warhol, adopted it as his vodka of choice. He was so fond of Absolut, in fact, that he is said to have worn it as a cologne.
This is not the only boundary-pushing artist that Absolut have been in cahoots with over the years; Absolut has also collaborated with boundary-pushing artists such as Keith Haring, Damien Hirst and Annie Liebovitz, to name but a few, and still maintains a close relationship with the world of art.
1988 – Absolut Makes Cosmos Cool Again...
The internationally standardised Cosmo cocktail as we know it today was first invented by an ingenious bartender at legendary New York nightspot, the Odeon, when he made it using Absolut Citroen – which is widely considered to have reinvigorated what is now a classic cocktail.
1994 – 49 Million Litres Sold...
Despite the golden age of the 80s coming to an end, the 90s saw Absolut cement its position as the number one imported vodka across the USA, Canada and other huge markets, with over 49 million litres sold in 1994.
