ABSOCIETY

Theme · 1984–2022 · 78 editions

Very special bottles

This collection gathers the rarest Absolut bottles: pieces made in tiny numbers, never sold, or given only to staff, partners and guests. What they share is a life outside the shops. Many come from the glassworks at Hammar, which blew Absolut's bottles until it closed in 1992 and made personal and holiday bottles by and for its workers. Others mark company milestones, such as the three-billionth bottle filled in Åhus in 2021, or say thank you to people inside the company. Add one-offs by artists like Maurizio Cattelan and production trials that went no further, and the grouping becomes a view of Absolut from the inside.

78 editions

  1. Chao Magazine 2022 · 1 variant Absolut worked with Chao, the Chinese youth-culture magazine, on twenty-five NFT videos of the bottle. This is what came out of it in glass: ICE 100 across the front in red, blue and yellow, in 300 copies.
  2. #TogetherIRL 2021 · 1 variant A hundred bottles given away through an Instagram and Twitter competition run by Absolut UK on July 15 2021.
  3. Helen’s 2021 · 1 variant An Extrakt bottle made with Helen's, the bar in Xiamen, and sold as part of a set with Helen's shooter glasses and cans of the bar's own milk beer. 200 copies.
  4. Movement Clear Glass 2021 · 1 variant Fifty bottles in clear glass, given away through an Instagram competition run by Absolut UK.
  5. Three Billion And One Bottle 2021 · 1 variant To celebrate the 3.000.000.001 bottles of Absolut Vodka milestone.
    Produced on January 28, 2021. Come with gold cap and special text.
    The bottle is located at the factory in Ahus.
  6. Three Billion Bottle 2021 · 1 variant To celebrate the 3.000.000.000 bottles of Absolut Vodka milestone.
    Produced on January 28, 2021. Come with gold cap.
    The bottle is located at the factory in Ahus.
  7. Etching 2020 · 1 variant The 2020 Christmas gift to the staff of the Absolut glass plant. 500 were etched, and every one is empty.
  8. Nothing 2020 · 1 variant Twelve empty bottles. Pernod Ricard Argentina and the insurer Answer Seguros made the most recognisable vodka bottle in the world without any vodka in it, and sent them — in bags sewn from recycled airbag fabric — to journalists, drivers and figures from the motorsport world, as an argument for not drinking before driving.
  9. Ruch Chorzow 2020 · 1 variant A bottle marking the centenary of the Polish football club Ruch Chorzów, with the club badge covering the medallion. 2,000 copies, and not an official Absolut release.
  10. Sacai 2020 · 1 variant Made with the Japanese label sacai and sold as a set: the bottle, a matching T-shirt in the same co-branded design, and a refillable spray nozzle with a silicone sleeve, all in recyclable paper packaging. It was available at the Nihao/Hello sacai pop-ups at SKP and Reel Shanghai and through Absolut's WeChat mini programme. 500 copies.
  11. 40 2019 · 1 variant Forty years to the day after the first case of Absolut Vodka was exported to the United States, The Absolut Company marked 20 April 2019 with a commemorative litre given to its staff. 960 copies were made.
  12. Tack France 2019 · 1 variant Ten bottles for the staff of Pernod Ricard France. The agency Happytear brought in the Swedish painter Astrid Sylwan, who painted each one by hand in her own style — so no two are alike.
  13. Uncover Innokids 2018 · 1 variant A gift pack the Chinese agency Innokids sent its clients for New Year, built on the Uncover bottle. Three versions circulate — Relocation, Client and Car Plate Lottery.
  14. Colombia Pride 2017 · 1 variant An accident that became a collectable. Pernod Ricard Colombia meant to launch the Rainbow Edition at four Pride parties in Medellín and Bogotá; the bottles never arrived in time, so rainbow A stickers were printed and stuck over the A on the back of ordinary 750 ml blue label bottles sold at the events. Only the cases that passed through those nights were customised, and the number is unknown.
  15. Helium 2017 · 1 variant Three bottles, designed by Dag Forsberg for Jeppe Nothlev and Nicklas Jørgensen of Team Helium — the Copenhagen cocktail bar that won the Absolut Invite team competition in 2017.
  16. Midsommar 2017 · 1 variant Fifty-five bottles by the designer Arthur Arbesser, hidden at random inside 35,000 packs sold through Austrian retailers — you found one or you did not. Each comes in its own colours and gradients.
  17. Rap of China 2017 · 8 variants Bottles made for the Chinese television series The Rap of China: standard blue label glass with one of four stickers on the back, in the litre and the 500 ml. The RICH necklace that went with them was capped at a thousand pieces.
  18. Akademi #2 2015 · 1 variant The second Akademi bottle, issued in 2015 in the same run of 2,520 numbered copies and, like the first, distributed only to staff and business partners rather than sold.
    Was also distributed to attendees of collector meeting 2014.
  19. Tack #2 2015 · 1 variant The second Tack bottle, on a new design.
  20. Collectors Meeting 2013 2013 · 1 variant Brass gold bottle made specificaly for attendees at collectors meeting in Stockholm in 2013.
  21. Graffiti 2013 · 1 variant 300 bottles spray-painted by Roberto Cuellar, the Mexican artist based in Düsseldorf, and never put on sale; each came with a certificate. They are easy to fake and often are. The tell is the code on the plastic neck ring, repeated in laser on the underside of the glass: it records the exact minute the bottle was made, and since the whole edition came from one batch it reads 20130307 16:29 or 16:30. Anything else is not a Graffiti.
  22. Visibility 2013 · 1 variant A trial bottle built to make Absolut easier to pick out on a dark bar shelf, tested in on-premise sales only. It was discontinued and pulled from the market.
    Also named Titania.
  23. Akademi #1 2012 · 1 variant A bottle The Absolut Company never sold: Akademi went to employees and business partners only, each copy numbered, in a run of 2,520. Two versions circulate. The standard one carries the usual Lars Olsson Smith medallion; the version reserved for top bartenders adds a personalised sticker over it, which makes every one of those a one-off.
  24. Cecilia Gadea 2012 · 1 variant A one-off by Cecilia Gadea, made for Absolut Mode, the edition Absolut built with designers from Buenos Aires.
  25. Collectors Meeting 2012 2012 · 1 variant "Country of Collectors" - A personalized bottle for the Absolut Vodka collectors meeting held in Åhus, Sweden.
  26. Grupo 134 2012 · 1 variant A one-off by Grupo 134, made for Absolut Mode, the edition built with designers from Buenos Aires.
  27. Kostüme 2012 · 1 variant A one-off by Kostüme, one of the Buenos Aires design houses Absolut worked with for the Mode edition.
  28. Laurencio Adot 2012 · 1 variant A one-off by Laurencio Adot, made for Absolut Mode with the designers of Buenos Aires.
  29. Maria Vazquez 2012 · 1 variant A one-off by María Vázquez, made for Absolut Mode with designers from Buenos Aires.
  30. Tramando 2012 · 1 variant A one-off by Tramando, made for Absolut Mode with the designers of Buenos Aires.
  31. Vickteerut 2012 · 2 variants A bottle that worked as an invitation: made for the Simple Statement party in Bangkok on 14 September 2012, and given to VIP guests. 350 of the 700 ml and 20 of the 200 ml.
  32. Blank 2011 · 1 variant A ceramic 200 ml bottle handed out as a gift at the Absolut Blank launch in Mexico.
  33. Gareth Pugh 2011 · 2 variants Gareth Pugh's bottle for the Mode edition, worked up from the Stealth Bomber shoulders of his Spring/Summer 2007 collection: black jagged geometry pushing out from the shoulders of the glass. It was sold only during Fashion Week in Paris, London and Milan, each copy numbered and boxed with a certificate.
  34. Han Sang Hyuk 2011 · 1 variant Three bottles, made by the Korean artist Han Sang Hyuk as his own reading of the Mode series — a Terminator design that has nothing in common with the rest of the set.
  35. Mode - ACW 2011 · 1 variant Personalized bottle exclusively issued by Absolut Collectors World (ACW) to 50 members of the collectors community.
    The banderole is personalized with the recipient's name and comes with a numbered medallion.
    Includes certificate of authenticity from Pernod Ricard in Germany.
  36. Peter Jensen 2011 · 1 variant One of three bottles Absolut made with the London boutique b Store, alongside Sophie Hulme and Tim Soar, in twenty copies each and sold only at Selfridges. Peter Jensen's is dressed in a patchwork scarf — worked from the rabbit print that had become b Store's signature — which comes off the bottle and is wearable.
  37. Sophie Hulme 2011 · 1 variant One of the three bottles Absolut made with the London boutique b Store, twenty copies each and sold only at Selfridges. Sophie Hulme's is bronzed and hung with chain — the hardware and charms her label is built on.
  38. Tim Soar 2011 · 1 variant One of three bottles Absolut made with the London boutique b Store, twenty copies each and sold only at Selfridges. Tim Soar's is strapped into a harness that comes out of his leatherwork — in his words, some kinds of fun are strictly for adults.
  39. In an World in miniature 2010 · 1 variant A bottle laid on its side and turned into a diorama — miniature figures in a bar scene, with a floor that lights up when the piece is plugged in. Made for display only, in 100 copies, and never sold to the public.
  40. Philipp Plein 2010 · 1 variant An Absolut 100 set with Swarovski crystals by the German couture designer Philipp Plein, and handed out at the opening of his Vienna boutique on 16 February 2010. 100 copies.
  41. Tack #1 2008 · 1 variant Tack is Swedish for thank you. Around 1,800 of these went to the staff of Maxxium in 2008, as the Absolut brand passed to Pernod Ricard. It was never sold.
  42. Satellit 2007 · 1 variant One of the first hundred bottles filled at the Satellit, Absolut's new bottling plant in Åhus, on 14 December 2007. It was never sold.
  43. Ten Million Cases 2007 · 1 variant To celebrate the 10,000,000 cases of Absolut Vodka milestone. Come with a gold cap.
  44. One Hundred Million Bottle 2006 · 1 variant To celebrate the 100,000,000 bottles of Absolut Vodka milestone.
    The bottle is located at the factory in Ahus.
  45. Santa 2006 · 1 variant 120 bottles poured at a TBWA Christmas party in the United States, with L.O. Smith dressed as Father Christmas on the medallion. Never sold.
  46. Reunion 2005 · 1 variant Three bottles, made for the centenary of the peaceful separation of Sweden and Norway. One went to the Swedish embassy in Oslo, one to the Norwegian embassy in Stockholm, and Absolut kept the third.
  47. One Billion Bottle 2004 · 1 variant To celebrate the 1,000,000,000 bottles of Absolut Vodka exported to the US milestone.
    Come with gold cap and special text.
    The first bottle is located at the factory in Ahus, the second was produced for medias.
  48. Pulko Raspberri 2004 · 1 variant 300 bottles by Pulko, made for the launch event of Absolut Raspberri.
  49. Britto Swarovski 2003 · 1 variant An Absolut Britto taken further: roughly 5,000 genuine Swarovski crystals set on the glass by hand, by Gina Tarr of RelishByGT.
  50. Gaultier 2002 · 1 variant A promotional bottle for the launch of Absolut Gaultier in Stockholm in September 2002. The text on the glass reads: “The collection consists of finest haute couture designed by Jean Paul Gaultier with inspiration from both Absolut and various Swedish Legends.”.
  51. Seagram 2001 · 1 variant Sixty bottles issued to selected Seagram employees as thanks for the partnership with Absolut that began in 1994.
  52. 20th Anniversary 1999 · 1 variant A commemorative bottle marking twenty years of Absolut Vodka in the United States, produced in 500 copies and handed to every employee of the time. The engraved text reads: “April 20, 1999. On this day twenty short years ago this superb vodka began its journey to the USA. With perfection as the goal and creativity as the guide, the brand has made a little marketing history and the product has made a lot of people smile. Thank you for being a part of this great adventure.”
  53. Ben 1999 · 1 variant Ben Vautier — the French artist who signs simply Ben, and whose handwritten text paintings are known far beyond the art world — made this bottle in 1999 for Absolut Originals, an eighteen-month programme in which sixteen European artists answered the bottle in painting, sculpture, photography and architecture. It was never sold: 150 numbered copies, etched with acid so that the blackened glass is eaten away around texts and drawings left standing in relief.
  54. Cattelan 1998 · 1 variant A single bottle. Maurizio Cattelan put a plastic mouse inside a standard 700 ml blue label and showed it at Palazzo Zenobio during the Absolute Generation exhibition in Verona.
  55. Garanti 1994 · 1 variant A single bottle, made in 1994 to test a new glass-working process against the constraints the US market imposed that January.
  56. Nubbeskåp 1994 · 1 variant Fifty bottles with the text reversed on the back so it reads correctly through the glass — the trick that Absolut Illusion would later build an entire edition on.
  57. IBA 1993 · 1 variant A 200 ml bottle made for the International Bartender Association's meeting in Vienna in 1993.
  58. PACT 1993 · 1 variant Twelve bottles marking the Limmared meeting.
  59. American 1992 · 1 variant One of the rarest Absolut bottles ever made — fifty copies, engraved by hand for the 500th anniversary of the 1492 landing in America. Carillon Importers, which had brought Absolut to the United States, commissioned Inner Light Crystal; Absolut shipped fifty-five unlabelled filled bottles for the purpose, five of them for samples and artist's proofs. David Sugar and Carol Iselin engraved a Native American shaman holding a quartz crystal inside an eagle spirit, surrounded by American figures past, present and future. Medallion, name plate and handle medallions are sterling silver, as is the cap, made to double as a shot glass and set with a semi-precious stone; the case is burled oak and ash lined with blue silk velvet. Bottle 1 went to Carillon president Michel Roux, bottle 2 to the head of V&S in Sweden, bottle 3 to Bill Clinton.
  60. Den Sista I Hammar 1992 · 2 variants The last bottles out of Hammar. The glassworks had been blowing glass continuously since 1854 and made Absolut's bottles until it closed in June 1992; roughly 250 of these went to the workers. They are always empty and unsealed — they never entered the filling line. The Swedish text thanks the glassworkers for keeping the trade alive for 138 years. Two versions exist, one in black and green marked Midsommar 1992, one in yellow without it.
  61. Hammar 1992 · 3 variants The bottle the Hammar glassworks gave its own staff in 1992, the year it stopped producing after 138 years of glassblowing. Three 500 ml liveries are known — blue, red and frosted red — with sixteen of the blue and 250 of the frosted red recorded.
  62. Hammar Rainbow 1992 · 1 variant A 1992 bottle handed to the staff of the Hammar glassworks, its label set in six colours: green, blue, red, yellow, black and white. It has nothing to do with Absolut's later Pride bottles — 1992 is simply the year the works stopped producing.
  63. One Million Cases 1986 · 1 variant Fifty bottles with a gold cap and a gold medallion, made when Absolut passed a million cases sold in a single year in the United States. The text reads: “This special bottle was made to celebrate the selling of more than a million cases a year of Absolut in the USA in 1986. The Swedish Wine & Spirit Corporation thanks Carillon Importers Ltd for their excellence in the marketing of Absolut since 1979.”
  64. Glasblåsarnas Snapsvisa 1984 · 1 variant A bottle the glassworkers at Hammar made for themselves in 1984, at the works that produced Absolut's glass until 1992. It is always empty and unsealed — it never went near the filling line. On it, in Swedish, is the glassblowers' drinking song: we glassblowers drink schnapps out of habit and out of joy, it runs down our throats one two four five, oh hi oh ho, yes damn it, it runs down like molten glass. Cheers. About 200 exist.
  65. Ulf Laurin 1984 · 1 variant A single bottle made for Ulf Laurin, who ran PLM from 1970 to 1989.
  66. Hammar GLH 1 variant A factory bottle carrying a drawing of the PLM plant, the Swedish glass group that made Absolut's bottles. The three initials stand for the works behind it: G for Surte outside Göteborg, L for Limmared, H for Hammar.
  67. Hammar God Jul 1 variant The Christmas bottle of the Hammar glassworks, its label showing children in red silhouette playing around a green tree. God jul is Swedish for merry Christmas.
  68. Hammar Johan 1 variant A 1.75 litre bottle made at the Hammar glassworks for a Johan, under a normal cap. The works stood in southern Sweden and blew Absolut's glass until 1992.
  69. Hammar Olsen Special 1 variant A 750 ml bottle from the Hammar glassworks labelled Olsen Special, one of the personal bottles the works made outside Absolut's own range.
  70. Hammar Peter 1 variant A personal bottle from the Hammar glassworks, carrying the name Peter in blue.
  71. Hammar Påsk 2 variants The Easter bottle of the Hammar glassworks — påsk is Swedish for Easter. Two printings are known, one with the text in red, the other in yellow.
  72. Hammar RK Koren 1 variant A 750 ml bottle for Roland Karlsson, who led the choir at the Hammar glassworks — RK Koren is that choir. Sixteen were made.
  73. Hammar Stake 1 variant A special bottle made for a Hammar Glassworks employee's 50th birthday. Stake = "erection" in Swedish.
  74. Hammar Svart Vinbärs Brännvin 1 variant A special bottle from the Hammar glassworks labelled svart vinbärs brännvin, Swedish for blackcurrant schnapps.
  75. Hammar Sven 1 variant A 1.75 litre bottle made at the Hammar glassworks for a Sven.
  76. Hammar Wilson's 1 variant A single 750 ml bottle from the Hammar glassworks, labelled Wilson's.
  77. Hammars Glasbruk 1 variant A 750 ml bottle for the 125th anniversary of Hammars glasbruk, the glassworks founded in 1854 that made Absolut's bottles until it closed in 1992.
  78. Upside Down 1 variant A blue label bottle with the printing applied the wrong way up, at 37.5% ABV, distributed by Arthur Bell Distillers of Perth, Scotland.

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