Absolut Just Dropped a Spicy Tabasco Flavored Vodka

(Photo: Pernod Ricard)

Sweden’s Absolut Vodka is joining forces with the world-famous Tabasco Brand for a spirit that’s sure to knock the socks off a Bloody Mary. Alas, the release is already involved in legal drama — but not for the reasons you might expect.

On Wednesday, the companies unveiled Absolut TABASCO. According to the team, the vodka was created without added sugars, instead relying on a natural essence derived from the fermented, aged red pepper mash used in the Louisiana-based brand’s hot sauce. The collaboration is bottled at 38% ABV and is labeled with green and red highlights that pay homage to Tabasco’s instantly recognizable packaging.

The spicy vodka is slated to roll out in over 50 markets from February onwards. Retailers like Total Wine already have it on sale at around $25 per 1-liter bottle, and you can expect similar pricing wherever else spirits are sold.

Christian Brown, Head of Agriculture and sixth-generation family member in the McIlhenny Company, says that Tabasco and Absolut each drew from their historic roots for the release. The hot sauce maker last ventured into the alcohol world with a George Dickel whiskey aged 30 days in ex-Tabasco barrels. We weren’t a huge fan of that bottling — to put it mildly — though we’re intrigued to see if Tabasco’s punchy, slightly vinegary flavor might fare better alongside a neutral grain spirit.

“With more than 150 years of pepper expertise, it only made sense for us at Tabasco to partner with Absolut Vodka, another brand with a long, storied history that understands and cares about the craft that goes into its product,” Brown said in a news release. “Tabasco exists to light up everything we touch and the powerful blending of these two iconic liquids (and unforgettable bottles) is long overdue!”

Legal Drama Already?

Consumers looking out for the release may be surprised to discover another vodka with a similar concept, flavor and packaging. According to lawyers, that is. On Jan 16, the McIlhenny Company filed a trademark complaint against Stoli Group USA, alleging that the latter’s recently launched Halapeño Pepper flavor is “confusingly similar” to the Tabasco trade dress.

The complaint claims that Stoli Group approached McIlhenny in 2024 for a potential co-branded pepper sauce vodka. The deal reportedly fell through in a matter of months, and by December 2025, Stoli debuted its own spicy vodka with nonspecific hot sauce branding. McIlhenny, however, alleges that the Stoli launch uses the same bottle shape, color scheme, green neck label and red cap as Tabasco, “harming the contemporaneous launch” of the Absolut product unveiled this week.

(Photo: McIlhenny Company)

“In other words, when told ‘no’ by McIlhenny, Defendants took the TABASCO® Trade Dress and, without authorization, used it to create the Infringing Trade Dress to market and drive the sales of the Defendants’ Product in a manner likely to cause confusion among consumers about the source,” the filing reads.

Earlier this month, Stoli Group USA announced that it was converting from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 bankruptcy in a bid to liquidate its assets. The company said that its Louisiana Spirits business, at which Halapeño Heat is produced, will remain unaffected.