A Comprehensive Guide to the Absolut Vodka Font

Absolut Vodka is a vodka brand manufactured near Åhus in southern Sweden by The Absolut Company AB (Pernod Ricard). The brand was introduced in 1879 and is noted for its relatively high alcohol content (up to 40%).

Absolut Vodka was owned by the Swedish state for many years. But in 2008, the vodka changed hands following its acquisition by the French group Pernod Ricard for €5.63 billion.

Thanks to heightened marketing campaigns over the years, Absolut Vodka has grown into one of the world’s largest spirit brands. The vodka is only rivaled by other renowned giants like Smirnoff and Bacardi. It’s currently available in 126 countries.

Absolut Vodka Font

The Absolut Vodka logo features the brand’s wordmark executed in a bold, blue color. The logotype utilizes the Futura Extrablack Condensed font.

Futura Extrablack Condensed is an extrablack condensed version of Futura, a geometric sans-serif typeface created by Paul Renner and initially released to the public font market in 1927.

Futura was developed as part of a contribution to the New Frankfurt-project. Renner designed the typeface based on geometric shapes that bear striking resemblance to the Bauhaus design styles that were popular around the same period.

Although Renner took charge of designing Futura, the font was officially developed as a typeface by the Bauer Type Foundry. Bauer desired a font that would compete with the seminal Erbar typeface released in 1926 by Ludwig & Meyer. And according to the company, Futura stood the best chance of outperforming Erbar.

Futura may have been conceptualized as a grotesque font. But the font’s creation took a different approach from that of most previous grotesque designs. For instance, Futura is characterized by near-perfect geometric shapes as opposed to the more condensed lettering used in earlier sans-serif styles.

Another notable feature of Futura is the tall ascenders for lowercase letters executed in this typeface. And as is evident in the Absolut Vodka logotype, Futura’s UPPERCASE letters look similar to the Roman capitals design.

In the interest of full disclosure, it’s important to state that Absolut Vodka doesn’t use the exact match of the Futura Extrablack Condensed font. Some of the letterforms on the brand’s logotype feature additional serifs, ostensibly to make the emblem unique.

It’s also worth noting that Paul Renner doesn’t take full credit for Futura’s evolution. There are several type designers who came after him, attributed with the creation of additional Futura styles and weights. They include Edwin W. Shaar and Tommy Thompson.

Where to Download Futura Black Condensed

Futura Extrablack Condensed, as with all popular Futura versions, are available for immediate download on multiple websites. Examples include My Fonts, AZ Fonts, and Font Meme. You can also get the font from Maison Fontes, Fonts Geek, or Fonts Place websites.

Futura Extrabold Condensed is free for both personal and commercial usage. Feel free to contact Bauer Type Foundry for the full license details.