Vodka Nation

Nice piece by Victorino Matus in The Weekly Standard on the history of vodka, particularly with regard to branding:

Atop one bottle, he drew a halo much like an angel’s. Then he jotted down a headline: “Absolut. It’s the perfect vodka.” Hayes liked it, especially the little joke. He knew the halo would reduce some of the pompousness of the headline.

The following morning, Hayes showed the sketch to his partner. [Writer Graham Turner] liked it, but he looked at the long headline and asked, “Why not just say ‘Absolut Perfection’?”

★ Sunday, 21 August 2011