Absolut (which, to everyone's big surprise, means absolute in Swedish) is a world-famous brand of Swedish vodka.

As a background, a small side note on the drinking habits of Swedes is appropriate, which are as ancient and violent as the country itself (the habits, not the Swedes, mind you), with roots in the Viking society and mead. While Swedes have water, milk or lemonade with their dinner, with the occasional beer, once they decide to actually drink, they do it to the point of total brain and liver obliteration. This is where vodka comes in handy.

Vodka was first sold legally in Stockholm in 1498, and is just another product in a wide assortment of very strong alcoholic beverages commonly referred to as "brännvin" (roughly translates to "burning wine") in Swedish. The trademark of "Absolut" was first used in 1879, by Swedish entrepreneur L.O. Smith, the very same man whose face is now on every single bottle of Absolut vodka. Absolut wasn't exported until 1979, i.e. 100 years after the founding. It is now sold in more than 125 countries.

Absolut vodka is distilled from a wheat grain called winter wheat, in Åhus, Sweden and distributed in Sweden by AB Vin & Sprit, to be sold only in special Systembolaget stores due to the Swedish alcohol monopoly. According to the Absolut Company, they manufacture 87 million bottles annually.

Absolut vodka contains 40% alcohol (except for the quite rare red bottle, with 50%) and comes in the following flavours: Regular, Peppar, Citron, Kurant and Mandrin. They are named in Swedish, and I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to find out what each tastes like. You may find good inspiration at the Everything Bartender or the Bartending Metanode. Enjoy.

Sources: http://www.absolut.com and a lifetime (albeit short so far) of being Swedish