The Pride season is upon us once more, with Pride in London this weekend and many more marches, events, talks and parties planned over the coming months. With this in mind, Spirit of Tom has created Tom of Finland Vodka that embodies the tenacity, strength and passion of the original LGBTQIA+ movement.
Inspired by the pioneering Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen (a.k.a. Tom of Finland) – best known for his highly masculinised homoerotic fetish art – Tom of Finland Organic Vodka is a new super-premium spirit, crafted in Finland from the finest organically grown wheat, rye and arctic water. The solid, manly design and featured artwork are in keeping with the artist’s drawings and celebrates his influence on gay as well as straight culture worldwide.
Impressive as the aesthetics of the bottle may be, the contents are even more thrilling. Bold but smooth, this is a vodka that is full of spirit (excuse the pun), where the hefty spice of the rye is allayed by the softness of the wheat and gentle caress of the pure artic water. The absence of added sugar allows for the true character of the organic grains to shine through and gives bartenders (commercial or amateur) the freedom to play with it as they will.
Olli Hietalahti, CEO of Spirit of Tom, says, “We wanted to create a super-premium Finnish vodka that truly embodies Tom of Finland – something bold, daring, flirtatious and playful, just like the artist’s renowned work.”
This is something that they have certainly achieved. However, of perhaps equal importance is the fact that this is not an entirely commercial venture, appropriating the name of a cultural icon for sole profit. A percentage of the return from each bottle will be donated to the Tom of Finland Foundation – a non-profit foundation established by Touko Laaksonen and his friend Durk Dehner in 1984 to preserve Tom of Finland’s catalogue of work and educate the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art, promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes towards sexuality. This brings the vodka back into the fold and is an important part of its story.
The organic vodka is being launched in the UK to coincide with the release of biographical film “Tom of Finland”, directed by award-winning Finnish director Dome Karukoski, which will tell the story of the artist’s extraordinary life.
Tasting Notes: Tom of Finland Organic Vodka
The Nose
Fresh, clean with a hint of spice from the rye and a distant thought of vanilla.
The Taste
Smooth and silky. The first sip coats the tongue with luscious viscosity. Supple cream soda notes trick the palate into detecting an element of sweetness before a gruff heat rises at the back of the throat, flinging accents of black pepper and star anise into the mix. The ending is mellow, rounding off the sip and bringing it back to its clean, vanilla beginning.
Suggested Serve
Cold. Ice cold or on the rocks. This is a bold and powerful spirit that is surprisingly smooth and accessible. If you can, drink it on its own and appreciate its ardour.