Pash-ion for Vodka #17 – Absolut CherryKran

Most of Absolut’s most recent releases have either been a part of their city range or else a rebranding of previous products from that range, so it was nice to hear of something different, the release of Absolut CherryKran, which is flavoured with a mix of cherry, white cranberry and plum.


The Taste

1) Room temperature
Nose: A rich and complex nose of cherry, sloe berry, almond, cranberry, dark berries, jammy plum and—oddly—bubblegum.
Taste: Berry bubblegum and confectionery, followed by some dry cranberry and floral almond. Sweet and smooth, but I quite like it.

2) From the freezer
Woah! This had a lot more flavour when chilled. It was very perfumed, but still full of sweet, confectionery notes, like those of bubblegum or gummy worms. Whilst not wholly unpleasant, it’s not what I expect from a vodka, flavoured or no.

3) Martini
This works as a drink, moving towards a Cosmopolitan, but dryer and less fruity. This would appeal to Cosmopolitan drinkers who don’t want the calories from the fruit juice.

4) Vodka & Tonic
The fruity flavour comes through well, but the bitterness of the tonic clashes badly with the flavour of the vodka. Not great and not recommended.

Absolut CherryKran is available for around £50 for 70cl from VIP Drinks.

Pash-ion for Vodka #12 - Absolut Orient Apple

Since its global release in 1979 (Absolut Vodka was actually founded in 1879) Absolut Vodka have already released over a dozen flavour variants of their original product. As part of this expansion, in 2007, they started a series of annual limited edition releases all inspired by a variety of US cities:*

2007 - Absolut New Orleans (Mango and Black Pepper)

2008 - Absolut Los Angeles (Acai, Acerola, Pomegranate & Blueberry)

2009 - Absolut Boston (Black Tea & Elderflower)

2010 - Absolut Brooklyn (Red apple & Ginger)

2011 - Absolut San Francisco (Grape, Dragon Fruit & Papaya)

2011 - Rio (Orange, Mango and Passionfruit)

2012 - Absolut Miami (Passionfruit & Orange Blossom)

Today Absolut Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco have been re-branded as permanent editions as Absolut Berry Acai, Wild Tea and Grapevine, respectively. Absolut Brooklyn was re-branded Absolut Orient Apple and I picked up a bottle of this during a recent jaunt abroad.

Absolut Orient Apple is bottled at 40% ABV and blends Absolut Blue with flavours of ginger and apple.

How does it taste?


On its own
Nose: Fresh apple, alongside some leafy elements, but no immediately evident ginger. Maybe some cinnamon and nutmeg (spice).
Taste: Quite smooth, with both apple and pear coming through strongly. Ginger appears as a fiery tingle on the finish.

Frozen
This was sweet and a little thicker than the vodka at room temperature. Good apple flavour is accompanied by some spice and a hint of caramel and toffee. Very nice. I thought this was a particularly good way to enjoy this vodka.

Martini
This was richer and more creamy than drinking the vodka on its own; it was also sweeter and had more of a buttery apple flavour. It had quite a pudding-like flavour to it, being softer and less fresh, but the ginger was lost for me. Overall, I thought this was okay.

Vodka & Tonic
Quite pleasant, this had a good amount of flavour; mainly fresh apple and some spice. A slight bitterness reminded me of a little of apple soda. Refreshing and tasty.

*Absolut Vancouver and Absolut London (2012) are both part of a similar "city series" but disappointingly they are just regular Blue Absolut in a fancy bottle. I personally would have like to have seen Absolut London flavoured with Tea and Juniper.