CORRECTION APPENDED

A new way to enjoy the Massachusetts state capital has arrived in Harvard Square. Its name? Absolut Boston.

The black tea and elderflower flavored vodka, which was released in August, is the third in Absolut’s series of city-inspired liquors—preceded by Absolut New Orleans in 2007 and Absolut Los Angeles in 2008.

The liquor’s black tea flavor is an allusion to the historic Boston Tea Party of 1773, according to a release from the Charles River Conservancy, which will receive charitable proceeds from Absolut out of profits from the product’s sale.

And the green color of the bottle is meant to be reminiscent of Fenway Park, which the inscription on the label references directly.

“In a city rich with monuments commemorating a nation, the one that stands above all is a dented green wall 37 feet tall, 240 feet long, and some 310 feet from home plate down the left-field lane,” the bottle’s white script reads.

According to bartenders in the Square, the elderflower flavoring is a popular infusion for various brands of vodka.

“Everyone’s jumping on the elderflower kick,” commented Sashu Magondi, the bar manager at OM, which plans to stock the liquor. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]

Doma Liquors, Bombay Club, and Tommy Doyle’s already carry the vodka, and C’est Bon Convenience and Liquor Store plans to order it soon.

Subsh Khadka, an employee of Doma liquors, said that the new flavor has been a popular pick among those looking for vodka.

“They find it exciting,” he explained.

While Danielle Girard, a bartender at Tommy Doyle’s, said that she has only served the liquor to two customers, she noted that responses have been positive.

“They liked it,” she said. “I’ve heard everybody that tries it likes it.”

But not so fast, others say.

“I tasted it and I wasn’t thoroughly impressed,” OM’s Magondi said. “It doesn’t really come out that well.”

Red House bartender James DeFayette, was not interested in the prospect of selling the drink.

“If we were to grab every trendy new vodka, we wouldn’t have room for me back here,” he said, gesturing to the space behind the bar.

He called Absolut Boston “gimmicky,” adding that “a solid bartender is better than some new vodka any day.”

He mentioned that the Red House does a significant amount of their own infusing, so there was not a particular need for the new flavored vodka.

David Beller, the bar manager at Grendel’s Den, which does not plan to carry the liquor out of space considerations, said he liked the vodka, but that its success would depend on the product’s marketing.

“If it gets marketed correctly, people will come in and ask for it,” he said. “But I haven’t seen any advertising for it.”

As with its Los Angeles and New Orleans counterparts, some of the profits garnered from Absolut Boston will be donated to charity.

Absolut has pledged $50,000 of profits from the sale of the new liquor to the Charles River Conservancy “as part of the brand’s ongoing commitment to the environment and to further support the quality of life around Boston,” according to a press release from the Conservancy.

Additionally, Horizon Beverage Co., which will distribute the liquor, has offered to donate $30,000 of profits to the cause.

The proceeds will go to “landscaping and clean-ups, embankment restorations, plantings and prunings, parkland programs and education, advocating for better pathways, and the return of the public swimming,” the Conversancy’s press release states.

—Staff writer Sofia E. Groopman can be reached at segroopm@fas.harvard.edu.

CORRECTION: The Sept. 4 article "Absolut Unveils Beantown-Inspired Vodka Flavor" mistakenly stated that the Square establishment OM planned to stock the new vodka variety Absolut Boston. In fact, OM has no such plans.