ABSOLUT APEACH

By Aaron Jacobs

BSOLUT - well known for its best-selling premium vodka, its signature Swedish Medicine Bottle and a 20-year running ad campaign - seems to be blessed with the power to amaze the world by infusing selected, very lucky fruits with that very vodka it’s famous for. And now a new fruit member has been added to the collection.

ABSOLUT clearly believes the next big thing in the cocktail world is peach. So, to lead that trend, they’ve launched ABSOLUT APEACH, making the new product the seventh entry in a flavoured vodka line-up that includes Citron, Mandrin, Raspberri and Vanila.

The latest addition to the fruit family is a clear, full-bodied peach-flavoured vodka, without the heavy sugar dose that peach liqueurs are known for. APEACH hits at a good time, as it’s a distinctive – but potent! – summer flavour. At 80 proof, much of the alcohol burn is gone, leaving a individual peach-like taste altogether, which makes it easy to drink straight. The sweet under-taste is of mellow peaches and tropical fruits. And with an aftertaste that’s fairly smooth, it provides a great foundation for cocktails.

Although it’s just hitting shelves here, APEACH could potentially give the other fruit flavours some serious competition. According to ABSOLUT, trends are showing increased interest in peach as a category (think Bellini, Fuzzy Navel), setting the stage for APEACH.

The ABSOLUT APEACH bottle is distinctive in itself, with hues of yellow and orange stimulated by the colour palate of the namesake fruit, suggesting the unique experience that ABSOLUT APEACH offers within the bottle – a new, complex and sophisticated taste.

Like the other members of the ABSOLUT VODKA family, APEACH, contains all-natural ingredients. But as Peach-flavoured vodka is an entirely new entity, the ad campaign delivers a not-so-subliminal educational punch; cocktail recipes are featured, with ingredients and measurements artfully laid out. Since most peach cocktails don’t require peach vodka, the extra hand-holding into the world of peach vodka is certainly appreciated to make ABSOLUT APEACH a great summer survival tool.

The 80 proof premium vodka is now available to consumers in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia 750ml. - A.J.

ABSOLUT VODKA: introduced in 1979
ABSOLUT PEPPAR: introduced in 1986
ABSOLUT CITRON: introduced in 1988
ABSOLUT KURANT: introduced in 1992
ABSOLUT MANDRIN: introduced in 1999
ABSOLUT VANILIA: introduced in 2003