Cheers

Cheers

The Beverage Business Magazine for Full-Service Restaurants and Bars

  • Beverage Trends
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Spirits
    • RTDs
    • Wine Reviews
    • Marketing
    • Operations
  • Recipes
    • What I’m Drinking Now
    • Submit a Drink Recipe
  • Resources
    • eRNDC Login
    • SG Proof Login
    • CORE: Children of Restaurant Employees
  • Events & Awards
    • Cheers Beverage Summit
    • Growth Brands
    • BevX Awards
    • Supplier Awards
  • Podcasts
  • E-News
    • E-News Subscribe
  • Digital Issues
  • Cheers@Home

Here’s How Absolut Plans to Push Premium Vodka in 2016

12/18/2015

by: Kyle Swartz

Vodka is supposed to be dead. Millennials much prefer whiskey to the white spirit. Then why did Pernod Ricard host a holiday party to celebrate Absolut Elyx, their newest premium vodka?

Released in 2013, Elyx is a step up in cost and quality from other Absolut products. It is 84.6 proof, with a retail price ranging between $30 and $37. Winter wheat used in making this spirit all originates from a single estate: Råbelöf, in Åhus, Sweden.

I recently sampled Elyx at Pernod Ricard’s annual holiday party. (This was held at Mickey Rourke’s former apartment, reimagined as “The Elyx House,” in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.) A vodka very much about terroir, the spirit has a distinct crisp, spiced, sweet-layered taste.

Elyx is meant to lift the category into the Craft Age, which so far has been associated more with beer, whiskey and tequila. But it’s not just about making quality product. And that’s where The Elyx House fits into brand strategy.

“We believe that hospitality will be a massive trend in 2016,” said Bryan Fry, Pernod Ricard USA President and CEO, during the holiday party. “The things hitting the scene are as much about the experience as the drinks.”

If so, then premium vodka will logically retain a large role in places of elegance and hospitality, like The Elyx House.

Advertisement
Elyx House Dining room

Mickey Rourke’s former apartment, reimagined as “The Elyx House,” in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

“Flavored vodka is challenged,” Fry said, “but premium vodka is growing. Yes, whiskey has surpassed vodka. But vodka is still right behind it, and larger in volume.”

To help close that gap, Pernod Ricard will focus on the “experience” aspect, which extends beyond the setting.

“As a luxury brand, we believe that not only must you make product with integrity, but also operate with integrity, and with substance behind the brand,” said Jonas Tåhlin, CEO of Absolut Elyx. “That is why, for the next five years, anytime anyone buys a bottle of Elyx, we will provide one week of clean drinking water to people in need.”

IMG_3117

The Absolut Elyx pineapple copper mug.

Elyx will deliver a full week of drinking water whenever someone buys one of their copper pineapple mugs. Absolut has adopted the pineapple, the universal symbol of hospitality, as part of the Elyx brand image. (At the holiday party, the hefty pineapple mugs contained the cocktail “Driving Miss Daisy,” a smooth and sweet mixture of Elyx, sweet vermouth and hibiscus flower tea.)

“This space, this brand, this is where we think luxury is heading,” Tåhlin said. “And we think thst this is vodka for the whiskey drinker, something to sip and savor.”

Whether that proves true will go a long way towards determining whether premium vodka can convince American drinkers to put down the brown spirits for some white.

Kyle Swartz is the associate editor of Cheers Magazine. Reach him at kswartz@epgmediallc.com, or (203) 855-8499, ext. 225.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Absolut Elyx Absolut Elyx cost Absolut Elyx taste Absolut vodka Absolut Vodka Premium Bryan Fry Bryan Fry elyx Bryan Fry premium vodka CEO Absolut Elyx CEO Pernod ricard USA Elyx Elyx cost elyx house elyx house meatpacking elyx house meatpacking district Elyx price Elyx vodka how does Absolut Elyx taste Jonas Tåhlin Mickey Rourke elyx house Pernod Ricard Elyx Pineapple absolut elyx premium vodka premium vodka future premium vodka in 2016 vodka vodka in 2016 what is Absolut Elyx what is Absolut Vodka premium what is elyx What is elyx house what is the future premium vodka where is elyx house why pineapple elyx absolut

Last modified: 12/18/2015

Previous Story:
How to Make Pepperdier Christmas Punch
Next Story:
A Whiskey Destination Worth the Trip: Sanford’s Restaurant

About the Author: Kyle Swartz

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Follow Us

Facebook
Twitter

In The News

  • Holistic Spirits Co. Unveils Botanical Vodka and Gin
  • Glenglassaugh Relaunches Core Range of Single Malts
  • FAT Brands Acquires Smokey Bones
  • WSWA Confirms Doug Shaw as Chairman of the Board
  • Russell’s Reserve Introduces Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson F
  • Campari Group To Distribute Miraval Wine
More News >>

Featured Drink

  • If You Meet Sartana
    If You Meet Sartana cocktail

Drink Recipes

  • 7 Coffee Cocktails for 2023
  • If You Meet Sartana
  • Corralitos Negroni 
  • Great Basin Sour
  • Negroni Riffs We Love For 2023

Current Issue

Cheers Current Issue

Cheers Magazine

  • About Cheers
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Market Research

Events & Awards

  • Beverage Excellence Awards
  • Cheers Beverage Summit
  • Growth Brands Awards

Magazines

  • Cheers
  • Beverage Dynamics
  • StateWays
  • Beverage Wholesaler
  • Beverage Handbooks (research)

E-Newsletters

  • Better Bartending
  • Cheers
  • Beverage Dynamics
  • StateWays
  • Beverage Wholesaler
  • Beverage Universe
  • Cannabis Regulator
  • About EPG Brand Acceleration
  • Privacy Policy
© Cheers Magazine. All rights reserved.

Insert/edit link

Enter the destination URL

Or link to existing content

    No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.