Product: Absolut Pears Producer: Absolut Approximate Retail Value: $25/bottle Category: Vodka Country of Origin: Sweden Reviewer: J. Harding The F Words: Flavor – Sharp, invigorating. Feel – Silky, velvet. Finish – Unique and refreshing.

Rating:

I feel bad for pears. It’s always been apples and oranges, or apples and bananas, or bananas and strawberries, or, if you’re me, it’s been Cheetos® and Tang®. But it never seems to be pears. If pears and people have been a somewhat overlooked relationship, pears and liquor is full-on abandonment. Only in recent years have pears come into their own, showing up in more and more interesting cocktails. I guarantee you that 2007 will be the year of the pear, along with being the Chinese year of the Porpoise, or something like that. Pears are going to step out of apple’s shadow, and Absolut Pears is going to help them do it.

Absolut Pears is just the latest in the many flavored vodkas in the Absolut family. While I consider Absolut Kurant to be the best of the bunch (if you’ve never tried it, stop touching your unmentionables and go out and get yourself a bottle. You won’t be disappointed), Absolut Pears comes in a close second. The pear flavor isn’t unmanageable or overpowering. Instead, like all good flavored liquors, it drifts onto the tongue like that unexpected party guest who brought along a 30-pack: surprising and welcome. It almost takes a moment to realize that you’re drinking straight vodka because the taste is so well executed. The nose is crisp and lovely and I could swear that the vodka had smoothness reminiscent of the skin of a pear.

The only knock against Absolut Pears is the difficultly in mixing it. The very delicacy of flavor that makes drinking straight Absolut Pears so wonderful also makes it easy to lose in a cocktail. My pear martini was excellent, but from there on I had difficulty finding it another home. Pear and soda was merely passable, pear and tonic was better, and pear vodka, pear puree, and triple sec was a mess. In the end, it was the unusual combination of pear, tonic, and limeade that proved to be more than the sum of its parts. I can’t quite decide if the lime balances out the pear, or if the sugar in the juice gives it the extra kick, but I am sure that it’s delicious. I’ve included the recipe as a shot, just because I’m trashy like that. So please enjoy responsibly.