Absolut Chicago: Celebrating arts and community in THE Windy City 

Collaborations have always been a big part of Absolut. Absolut collaborations are celebrations of art, design, fashion, and music. But sometimes, we also celebrate places.  

Take, for example, our limited-edition Cities series where we’ve collaborated with artists, fashion designers and filmmakers to celebrate a specific city or country. With this series, our goal is to capture the essence of each location through the unique styles and visions of various artists. This results in a collection that truly celebrates the cultural richness and creativity of diverse places worldwide. 

Looking back while moving forward, in this article, we open our Collaboration vaults to revisit Absolut Chicago. 

A city brimming with culture 

Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, with a population of nearly three million people. Chicago is a vibrant melting pot of arts and culture, a city teeming with cultural richness that few places in the world can rival. 

The city is home to: 

• 60+ museums, showcasing world-class art, culture, and history 

• 36 annual parades  

• 40 annual film festivals  

• 74 music festivals  

• 200 professional dance companies 

• More than 200 theaters 

• 250 live music venues 

Digging deeper, Chicago is also the birthplace of house music, gospel, electric blues, juke, footwork, and drill. If those aren’t impressive credentials, we don’t know what are! The unique sounds born in this city continue to resonate globally. 

So, when we turned to Chicago for our Cities series, we wanted to wrap our bottle around that soul and be part of that crowd. 

A flavor for the people 

Launched in 2013, Absolut Chicago was a Limited-Edition Olive and Rosemary Flavored Vodka. Yes, you read it right – Olive and Rosemary Flavored Vodka. You could say that these flavors represent city classics like Chicago deep dish pizza and the Italian beef sandwich.   

Olives are often used in Chicago-style dishes like the Chicago Giardiniera while rosemary adds a fragrant touch reminiscent of the city’s rich Italian heritage. Together, these flavors capture Chicago’s diverse and flavorful food culture.   

Smooth and mellow with a well-balanced spiciness, Absolut Chicago is perfect for classics like the Dirty Martini.  While you’re here, be sure to explore our other flavored vodkas. 

Representing the community
Chicago is comprised of 77 unique communities, each with its own distinct personality and cultural flair. Community is a vital part of Chicago’s identity. 

For Absolut Chicago’s bottle design, we teamed up with Chicago-based online design community, Threadless. Pioneers in community-driven design and best known for their acclaimed T-shirt designs, the Threadless membership model routinely invites work from members, which is then voted on, with the winning designs produced. 

The top contribution for Absolut Chicago was made by Ross Bruggink, a humorous, creative, edgy and well-thought through design with local details for local appeal. 

“I wanted to represent iconic elements of Chicago (hot dogs, Ferris wheels, pigeons, theatre signs, etc.) while presenting the iconic nature of the architecture itself.” says Ross in his artist statement, “The result is a stylized cityscape incorporating architectural and iconic elements of Chicago.” 

You can learn more about Absolut Chicago limited-edition bottle below.  Visit Absolut Chicago