Say hello to the rarest ABSOLUT VODKA bottles in the world. These 3 bottles come in a production of only 20. Talk about uber-exclusivity.While the name ABSOLUT VODKA would be familiar with most people, not many have seen the vast range of its beautifully designed and rare bottles which the brand has collaborated and commissioned countless artists to create since 1986. I was naturally excited when I heard about the ABSOLUT CANVAS exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore (23 Aug – 2 Sep 2013) where I can feast my eyes on how the biggest names in fashion and design have re-interpreted ABSOLUT’s signature vodka bottle in their own creativity. Some of these bottles are so rare – only as little as 3 pieces were produced and can command up to a street value of S$15,000 for a bottle. Interested to know which bottle that is? Read on ;)
ABSOLUT CANVAS exhibition
ABSOLUT City edition bottles which pay homage to each city’s unique icons and characteristics
Vodka with a heart
Did you know all ABSOLUT U.S. City editions, proceeds were donated to support local causes? ABSOLUT New Orleans was the first edition in the ABSOLUT VODKA city-series launched in 2007 to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Proceeds were donated to the Gulf Coast Charities. It has the aroma of mango and black pepper.
ABSOLUT BROOKLYN, a blend of red apple and ginger, was designed in collaboration with Spike Lee depicting the city where he grew up in. ABSOLUT SF has an interesting flavour of grape, dragon fruit and papaya. Sounds like a great smoothie!
ABSOLUT ISTANBUL by Turkish artist Yigit Yazici pays tribute to Istanbul’s iconic emblems, Galata Tower and the strait of Bosphorus. So you can actually learn something about a city from an ABSOLUT bottle.
ABSOLUT MIAMI is the brand’s sixth U.S. city-inspired limited edition flavor, joining New Orleans, Los Angeles, Boston, Brooklyn and San Francisco. The bottle design features images of palm trees, flamingos, music tunes and martini glasses representative of Miami’s city pulse from the beach day to the nightlife.
ABSOLUT bottles immortalised in an artwork
Black ABSOLUT Crystal Pinstripe Decanter by Swedish designers Skogsberg&Smart (Far left) – Limited to only 10 pieces worldwide, it has a price tag of €8,000. Hand-blown, hand-cut and hand-engraved, the design is inspired by the heritage of Saville Row’s iconic pinstripe tailoring. Each one is numbered and signed by the mastercrafter following approval. The clear crystal Pinstripe has a limited production of 800 bottles.
Some designs come in the form of a second sleeve such as the ABSOLUT DENIM designed by Brooklyn denim expert Loren Cronk. The special indigo denim sleeve is intended to keep the drink in a perfectly chilled temperature at all times. The ABSOLUT SEA CRUISE was only available on board selected cruising ships in the Caribbean Sea, and some fans braved seasickness just to get their hands on a bottle.
Honey melon and lemongrass-flavoured ABSOLUT EXPOSURE by Swedish artist Johan Renck
Renck photographed actress and supermodel Lydia Hearst in different personas and then incorporated the photographs in bottle printing
ABSOLUT WATKINS has an interesting spiced coffee and almond flavor, while ABSOLUT FLAVOUR OF THE TROPICS, a limited edition exclusively for duty free, features mango, orange, lychee, pineapple and melon.
ABSOLUT C’N'C FASHION ANIMAL
Limited edition of 100,000 bottles designed by Italian fashion designer Ennio Capasa.
ABSOLUT ROMERO BRITTO
ABSOLUT commissioned Britto to design their commemorative 25th anniversary bottle of Absolut in America. This was the first time the brand allowed their signature bottle design to be transformed into a work of art for full national distribution.
ABSOLUT MODE reflects the world of fashion through twelve facets, wrapped with a band in midnight blue silk cloth with text embroidery.
No two ABSOLUT UNIQUE bottles are the same in the world and each bottle is serialized with an individual production number.
ABSOLUT BUTTERFLY and MONKEY
Designed by Nelson Leirner and Daniel Senise, 48.000 pieces of each bottle were produced.
First-ever China limited edition ABSOLUT 72 BIAN
ABSOLUT GREENSAVER was a limited edition for Greece in a 700 ml Bottle. It was designed by Greek artist Konstantinos Vita.
ABSOLUT WALLPAPER
Limited editions designed by Alessandro Guerriero (Wallpaper #1), Gio Pagani (Wallpaper #2) and American artist Ron English (Wallpaper #3).
ABSOLUT BLANK
Designed by Mario Wagner (2012), Dave Kinsey (2013) and Pilpeled (2013)
ABSOLUT GLIMMER which looks like a gem with its polished cuts
ABSOLUT CHROME
This design is characterized by a glued chrome colored or silver colored foil. It was was released in France in 2005, 2007 and for a short time in Germany.
7-litre display bottles which are not for sale. They would make such great display pieces.
Vodka Innovation Edition featuring a series of blended vodkas that showcasing the creativity of mixologists
The bottle for ABSOLUT CRAFT is inspired by Victorian medicine flasks. The Herbaceous Lemon tastes of fresh lemon verbena while the Smokey Tea comes from an infusion of Lapsang Souchong tea with notes of orange peel, clove, and ginger. Both are available at select bars and mixology accounts in the U.S., U.K., and Sweden.
Crafted from hand-selected estate wheat and blended with soft, naturally filtered water, ABSOLUT ELYX (right) is a small-batch vodka produced according to craft techniques in an authentic 1929 copper rectification still. The result: a handcrafted super premium vodka with an elegant, silky texture.
A “sparkling fusion” of ABSOLUT VODKA and Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. I like the ornate design on the bottle.
What got me most excited is a little room which housed the Rare Editions bottles which comes in a limited production of fewer than 1,000 bottles each. I doubt most people had even seen any of them.
The “b Store and Friends” ABSOLUT MODE Edition
ABSOLUT has a long history of collaborations with some of the greatest fashion talents of the world; Helmut Newton, Tom Ford, Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, Hussein Chalayan, Stella McCartney and Herb Rits since the 1990s.
For this particular series, ABSOLUT collaborated with designer boutique b Store to create 60 limited edition bottles (20 of each exclusive to Selfridges) by Peter Jensen, Sophie Hulme and Tim Soar. Tim Soar’s harness design reflects his work with leather and in his own words, suggests “some kinds of fun are strictly for adults.” This has a reported market value of $3,500. Peter Jensen’s patchwork scarf embellishment (inspired by the brand’s iconic rabbit print) doubles up as a fashion accessory while Sophie Hulme’s design features a bronzed bottle with chain embellishments.
ABSOLUT MODE by Han Sang Hyuk
This special “terminator” edition must be the most exclusive bottle with just three pieces in the world. 2 pieces are in Singapore, and 1 in America. This would be the most expensive bottle of them all.
ABSOLUT FREESTYLE with fragmented words were sold at France’s Monoprix, and have become precious cos’ most of the bottles were drunk and only a few unopened bottles still exist.
ABSOLUT 1999 was released on 20 April 1999 to commemorate ABSOLUT’s 20th anniversary in the United States. Only 500 of such bottles were produced.
ABSOLUT MODE by Gareth Pugh
One of my favourite bottles, this takes inspiration from the “Stealth Bomber” arms from his 2007 Spring/Summer collection. Only 75 of this exists in the world.
“Tack” being the Swedish word for thank you, ABSOLUT TACK was given to Maxxium employees when ABSOLUT was bought by Pernod Ricard.
ABSOLUT GAULTIER was launched in Stockholm, Sweden September 2002 with a limited production of 1,200 bottles.
ABSOLUT AKADEMI was issued at Absolut’s Akademi program in Sweden. It comes with a wooden box featuring a bottle shaped cut-out. The label says, “This Akademi Award recognizes your participation in the Absolut Akademi. It is also a token of our thanks for your contribution to the exceptional success of Absolut Vodka.”
ABSOLUT 100
Limited to only 100 bottles distributed during the grand opening of the new Philipp Plein boutique in Vienna, Austria on 16 February 2010, this bottle by German couture designer Philipp Plein is decorated with Swarovski crystals and a silver skull tassel.
ABSOLUT GLOW
This limited edition bottle was sold at the Sqweez Animal “Let’s Glow” party in Bangkok, Thailand on October 13, 2012.
Released in 2010 in celebration of Joyce Boutique’s 40th anniversary. 700 copies were commissioned featuring the artwork of Chinese modern art master Zeng Fanzhi. The bottle sold out within the first three days of its launch.
I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and was super happy I had an opportunity to feast my eyes on such interesting designs. Perhaps I should try decorating a bottle myself too….*hic* If you are interested to learn more about ABSOLUT VODKA’s creative bottles, the Absolut Vodka Collectors Wiki would be a good start.
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