The Tasting Panel magazine

JULY 2012

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Absolut A House Party THE ICONIC VODKA BRAND RE-CREATES A SWEDISH VILLAGE . . . IN HOLLYWOOD by Sarah Jean Klinger / photos by Erica Bartel BSOLUT Stuga [ab-so-loot stoo-gah] noun: a vibrant, self-contained world full of exciting, entertaining and surprising discoveries to reconnect you an icon that is constantly reinventing itself. Naomi Schimek, General Manager of The Spare Room, stands in an unmis- takable ABSOLUT doorway with Marcos Tello of Tello | Demarest Liquid Assets, a cocktail consulting fi rm. At Paramount Studios in the heart of Hollywood, on the same sound stage where Citizen Kane was fi lmed, Los Angeles's top bartenders found themselves transported last month to a remote village in Sweden. There, the stage was dramatically lit, giving the scene an authentic icy air that was a perfect backdrop for three stugas, Swedish cottages designed to each represent a unique dimension of Sweden's iconic vodka brand, ABSOLUT. According to Simon Ford, Trade Marketing Director for Pernod Ricard USA, the aim of the night was to educate by following this mandate: "Bring Sweden to Los Angeles, and fl y in the experts." As a group of ABSOLUT experts stood by, ready to delve into all aspects of the quintessentially Swedish vodka, bartenders and industry professionals from across Los Angeles were privy to everything about the brand, from founder Lars Olsson Smiths's ground breaking methods of continuous distillation to the ABSOLUT 'one source' philosophy. Specifi cally, attendees were schooled about the importance of the distillery's location; the winter wheat and the pristine water used in ABSOLUT both emanate from one area near the small town of Åhus, in the Skåne region. After stuga-school let out (and guests took off their ABSOLUT lab coats), attendees sipped a series of ABSOLUT cocktails before sitting down to a dinner compliments of Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of L.A.'s super-hot Animal restaurant. It was a house party of ABSOLUT proportions, to be sure, but the education offered by the night was the real draw: "It is important to bring bartenders back into the mix of what we're doing," explained Ford. For additional photos, visit our Facebook page! www.facebook.com/TastingPanelMagazine july 2012 / the tasting panel / 67 MARKETING

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