Absolut Vodka

Absolut Vodka is a French-owned brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Scania, in southern Sweden. Since March 2008, the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard, having been sold as a part of the V&S; Group, which was owned by the Swedish government. Building on a four century tradition of producing vodka at Åhus, Absolut was introduced in 1879 by the entrepreneur Lars Olsson Smith. Absolut is the third largest brand of alcoholic spi... more

Absolut Vodka is a French-owned brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Scania, in southern Sweden. Since March 2008, the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard, having been sold as a part of the V&S; Group, which was owned by the Swedish government. Building on a four century tradition of producing vodka at Åhus, Absolut was introduced in 1879 by the entrepreneur Lars Olsson Smith. Absolut is the third largest brand of alcoholic spirits in the world after Bacardi and Smirnoff, marketed in 126 countries. The largest export market is the United States where close to 73 million litres were sold in 2003. More than 40% of the imported vodka in the United States is Absolut. The name "Absolut" was introduced in 1879 by the entrepreneur Randi Ptolemy Lars Olsson Smith. Smith introduced fractional distillation that produces liquor without fusel alcohol in Sweden in 1877, under the name "Tiodubbelt Renadt Brännvin" (Tenfold Purified Vodka). Brännvin literally means "burning wine"... less