I am a sucker for anything vanilla scented, plus a worse sucker for something in a classy looking bottle. That sure has gotten me in trouble in the past, as many of you well know.
I was roaming my neighborhood liquor store (and no it has not changed in 7 years), and saw this pretty white etched bottle on the shelf. Absolut Vanilia, hmmmm, well I loved the Mandarin, so why not.
Trying to do a little research on this one, the company website proved to be impossible for me. The opening page took forever to load, that was just to enter by birth year. The second page, the one with the lovely bubbles that just spin around, then slowly turn into a bottle. That page took almost 15 minutes, a 2 second movie of the new pear flavor popped up. Then we were back to the spinning bubbles again. Forget this, I don't need to know more info that badly.
I do know that Lars Olsson Smith (The King of Vodka) started his distillery in 1879, on the island of Reimersholme, near Stockholm, Sweden. He was the first to use a distillation method called rectification, that is still used today. In the 1970's Absolut started being made in the 1906 Ahus Distillery, by Lars Lindmark. He is the president of V & S, Vin & Spirit AB, and the gentleman responsible for first importing Absolut to the US in 1979. Okay enough of the fun facts.
Upon examining this classy bottle further the label says 40% alcohol by volume, which in lush talk means 80 proof and probably a really good buzz.
After prying off the plastic seal with a knife the lid is finally in my hand. Let's check the vanilla smell. Yep, that is what it smells like alright. Just like my Body Fantasies Vanilla Fantasy Perfume. I may just dab a little of this behind my ears.
In the glass, great viscosity! All kinds of stuff clinging to the sides of my glass. But smelling it again, uh oh this may be a problem, now that I have stuck some behind my ears! In an open glass, the vanilla scent seems to have dissipated a great deal. There is something a little sweet here, but it is also burning my nostrils, and I have a slight cold.
Well, it's in the glass, can't let this go to waste now can I? The first taste is really sweet, there is still a touch of vanilla flavor there. The second taste is very sweet vanilla, maybe with a touch of honey. The texture seems to be a bit thick also. You can tell that this is vodka, but it doesn't burn in your mouth, it does burn in your chest after a few seconds.
The after taste is still really sweet and almost bitter, if that makes any sense. Sorry, I just call 'em like I taste 'em. It almost makes me think that this would be good mixed with a sweet liquor like Baily's or Godiva. Everyone is raving about mixing Yoohoo with different liquors, maybe that would work. I've had no experience at work with this liquor, so sorry folks no recipes on this one.
Am going to give this a shot with some Coke, you know like Vanilla Coke, the blast from the past. Well.... Not quite the same. Just turned into really sweet coke, can't even taste a hint of vanilla.
This is just a little sweet for my tastes, although I don't hate it. I wouldn't spend the money to buy it again. And I can't recommend it to my friends since they are not into sweet drinks either.
Absolut Vanilia is made with only natural ingredients. No sugar is added. The taste is rich, robust and complex. It has a distinct character of van...More at Napacabs.com
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