History
The ABSOLUT story began long before its introduction in the United States in 1979 and can be read on every bottle: “This superb vodka was distilled from grain grown in the rich fields of southern Sweden. It has been produced at the famous old distilleries near Åhus in accordance with more than 400 years of Swedish tradition. Vodka has been sold under the name ABSOLUT since 1879.”
The face of Lars Olsson Smith, “the king of Vodka” and the inventor of ABSOLUT, appears on the medallion of every bottle of ABSOLUT. Orphaned at birth in 1836 Olsson Smith was adopted and taken to Stockholm at the age of nine. Even then, he had a head for business and soon knew what he wanted to do. In 1850, at age 14, Olsson Smith already controlled one-third of all the vodka sold in Sweden.
In 1879, Olsson Smith registered the ABSOLUT trademark with his “Absolut Rent Brännvin” (Absolutely Pure Vodka). With this product, he introduced a superior way of distilling vodka: the revolutionary continuous distillation process. ABSOLUT is still distilled through this process, although it has been further developed.
Since its introduction to the U.S. market, ABSOLUT has extended its lineup of flavored liquors to include ABSOLUT PEPPAR (1986), ABSOLUT CITRON (1988), ABSOLUT KURANT (1992), ABSOLUT MANDRIN (1999), and ABSOLUT VANILIA (2003).
