We have an established language for describing whisky. And though it may have taken awhile,

Americans now have a language for wine, too. But when it comes to vodka, most of us—bartenders included—don’t really know what aromas to look for or how to describe the flavors we are tasting, according to Per Hermansson, director of sensory analysis for The Absolut Company (the brand owner for Absolut, Malibu and Kahlúa under the Pernod Ricard structure).

This is largely the result of vodka’s well-known definition as a colorless, flavorless, odorless spirit—a completely false charac-terization, adds Hermansson. “I see myself as an ambassador for a liquid that people believe has no smell or taste. Since I know that isn’t true, my job is to spread the gos-pel and help build an established language for vodka,” explains Hermansson. “I want people to understand there are very no-

ticeable differences between vodkas; and besides, it is more interesting to consume a product that you know more about.”

It’s hard to believe that vodka would be in need of a publicity campaign. Rep-resenting more than a quarter of all spir-its sales in the U.S., vodka continues to grow—even in midst of a recession. And within the vodka kingdom, Absolut still reigns: It is the number one call brand on-premise, with a 25% market share, as well as a roughly 13% share in the off-premise, according to Nielsen data.

But being so on-premise dominant has its challenges, too, says Jonas Renner Tah-lin, vice president, marketing—Vodkas, Pernod Ricard USA: “The on-premise is where we built Absolut and it remains our most important channel, so when the overall market is declining by double dig-its, it is particularly painful for us.”

Yet, rather than pull back from on-premise spending—or spending in gen-

eral—the company has increased their investment: In the last fiscal year, Absolut was the number two spender in the indus-try, second only to Patrón. “Pernod Ricard bought this brand for a lot of money and my big fear coming here was that they would be totally focused on paying off the debt, but that has not been the attitude,” shares Tahlin. “There is certainly a logical argu-ment to be made for shifting dollars from on-premise to off-premise right now, but we genuinely believe that it’s extremely important to win in the on-premise chan-nel and we are willing to spend whatever it takes to do so.”

GettinG Bartenders On BOard

Absolut has embarked on an ambitious mission to reengage the bartender com-munity with the entire vodka category, and this is where Hermansson comes in:

Absolut MissionA New Marketing and Drinks Campaign along with Groundbreaking

Vodka Education seen as Keys to Winning Back Bartenders

By KristEN WolfE BiElEr

Per Hermansson presents sensory

analysis to top Washington, DC

bartenders

Guests at the Washington, DC Absolut sensory event enjoy Alinea cuisine

“Our objective is to get the bartender to recognize vodka again. We did a small sample and found that most bartenders haven’t tasted Absolut or most other vod-kas in years because they’ve been focused on cachaça or rye—spirits they deemed more exciting at the time. We want to get them talking about vodka, and under-standing its complexities.”

A scientist with a methodical ap-proach, Hermansson was hired by Absolut in 1996 to build a sensory laboratory in Stockholm. In this state-of-the-art facil-ity, everything is white—there is no art on the walls—and the glasses tasters use are black. The absence of all other stimuli allows people to focus only on the aroma and taste of the vodka. “We give subjects a range of different vodka brands and we chart the most common descriptive words they use to characterize Absolut in com-parison with Svedka, Stoli, Smirnoff, etc., in order to figure out how people perceive their differences. This helps us understand the characteristics people prefer.”

Each vodka is unique, but there are common traits that emerge. Hermansson explains: “Wheat vodkas have a distinct graininess (Absolut), rye vodkas have darker, yeasty bread-like aromas (Belve-dere), grape vodkas have more fruit, berry, citrus aromas (Hangar One, Cîroc), and barley vodkas can be very neutral with simple character (Finlandia).”

In Hermansson’s bartender seminars which he conducts around the world, he illustrates how important it is to under-stand the differences in vodkas when

it comes to mixology: Different vodkas create dramatically different drinks. The first element to consider is the character of the vodka—it must be harmonious and able to marry with the other fla-vors in the cocktail. The second issue determines mixibility—that is, if the vodka is “rounded”. This is a quality that comes from added sugar. Many Russian vodkas, for example, contain sugar that was added after distillation which is de-signed to make the vodka smoother, par-ticularly for drinking neat (which is how most vodka is consumed in Russia). “The problem you have when you try to create a cocktail with a rounded vodka is that it can create a bitter aftertaste and a high-er acidity; the flavors don’t marry well,” Hermansson says. Other vodkas, he de-scribes, are incredibly neutral and create simple, one-dimensional cocktails but “if you get a vodka with the right character, you can create a really harmonious, deli-cious drink.”

Why aBsOlut Makes Better COCktails

The brand’s current marketing push—Absolut’s Drinks Campaign—is grounded in Hermansson’s research, and aims to illustrate why Absolut makes superior cocktails. “We have found that grain-based vodkas like Absolut tend to per-form the best in cocktails. Also, Absolut is completely dry, so there is no conflict with added sugar. We don’t use charcoal filtering because we want to retain the

grainy character—charcoal filtering has an amazing ability to take away all sorts of flavors—and the high quality water we use creates a natural smoothness.” According to Tahlin, the campaign is working to boost on and off-premise sales: Nielsen data indicated that recent advertising has given Absolut a boost off-premise for at-home entertaining.

While consumers are very familiar with Absolut’s innovative advertising campaigns over the years, they might be less familiar with the story behind the liquid: “Since we launched in 1979, we’ve really focused on creative market-ing,” says Tahlin. “But, we haven’t talked about the spirit itself and now is a good time to do that. I don’t think bartenders have really understood why Absolut cre-ates the best drinks; it’s going to take an active effort on our part to educate on this point going forward.”

One crucial point of difference Her-mansson emphasizes is that every bottle is the same: “Many vodka brands are pro-duced in multiple distilleries throughout the world, and they truly taste different depending on where they are produced, relying on different raw materials or dif-ferent water sources. Absolut is the same liquid all over the world because we only have one distillery, and one water source.”

BettinG On the PreMiuM seGMent

The vodka landscape has shifted consid-erably since Absolut first hit American

“We think absolut has the strongest brand equity, the strongest history in terms of advertising, and the high quality to rightfully command the highest price amongst the premiums.”

— Jonas renner tahlin, vice president, marketing-vodkas, pernod ricard usa

Allen Katz, Southern Wine & Spirits, shakes a cocktail in the Absolut Speakeasy

retail shelves. Hermansson gives 1997 as a significant date, when the super-premi-um category started sky-rocketing thanks to three $30 bottles: Belvedere, Chopin and Grey Goose. “Grey Goose offered a taste profile which hadn’t existed before in the vodka category, and people really loved it,” he says. Because more and more producers in this arena use novel, often non-traditional ingredients to make their vodkas, it is harder for Hermansson to nail down a ‘taste profile’ in the super-premium segment: “You see more floral, citrus aromatics.” Often in this category, and even more so when you get to the ultra-premium category, he believes con-sumers are paying for more packaging than they are for product: “I once paid over $200 for a vodka that tasted like an exact copy of one of the most inexpen-sive Swedish vodkas.”

Absolut is holding firmly to its posi-tion as the highest-priced product in the premium tier, says Tahlin. “I think con-sumers are looking for quality brands that still represent good value; brands that are about more than just status and a high-price. Absolut is priced at the top of this segment, but it’s still not an exces-sive spend. We think it has the strongest brand equity, the strongest history in terms of advertising, and the high quality to rightfully command the highest price amongst the premiums.”

the iMPOrtanCe Of COnstant innOvatiOn

With a longstanding reputation as one of the most innovative brands in the industry, Absolut continues to stay one

step ahead of the trends (of the brand’s 11 flavors, nine of them were new to mar-ket at the time of launch). “Innovation is one way we really add value to retailers,” says Tahlin. “We are always creating new reasons for consumers to get excited and buy Absolut rather than our competitors’ brands.” In the last seven months alone, Absolut launched Absolut Mango, Abso-lut Boston (as part of the City Series) and Absolut Berri Açai.

“The City Series has been particularly successful for us, because we tap into a great sense of local pride,” Tahlin de-scribes. “We take the time and effort to understand what’s locally relevant to a city’s culture, and that creates very posi-tive feelings with our consumers.” It has also caught the attention of the bartend-er community, because the flavors are so exotic and experimental—tea-and-

elderflower in Absolut Boston, for ex-ample. “If you look to Nielsen, Absolut Boston is actually the number one new spirits SKU that’s been released in the last six months,” Tahlin adds.

stayinG strOnG Off-PreMise

In the off-premise, there is a big pric-ing compression in the vodka category, Tahlin describes, but “discounting is not something a premium brand wants to do. We are constantly looking state by state to make sure we are competitively priced, and there are times when we must make adjustments, but we don’t think it’s good for anyone. The best thing we can do is try to hold our position, and make sure we are in a great position when the economy turns around by maintaining and building brand equity.”

Just as Absolut has a long-term strat-egy, they urge their retail partners to take the same approach: “A short term strategy would be to get rid of everything that’s expensive, to really cheapen the outlet and only stock standard or private label brands. Once the tide turns, that’s not go-ing to be a good position when it comes to margins. It makes sound strategic sense to put money behind the brands that are also in premium.”

And when the recession is over? “The economy won’t stay this way forever. I think that we’re going to see consumers spending $4 or $5 more to get a superior product across all spirits categories,” says Tahlin. “Vodka is the most versatile base for creating a cocktail and that’s not going to change moving forward.” ■

Absolut’s sensory laboratory in Stockholm

Per Hermansson, The Absolut Company

“We have found that grain-based vodkas like absolut tend to perform the best in cocktails.”

— per hermansson, director of sensory analysis,

the absolut company