Dolph Lundgren on vodka and Hard Cut
How does Dolph Lundgren like his Martinis? We spoke to the action star about his new vodka brand Hard Cut.
Although vodka is the biggest-selling spirits category in the US, it’s lacking a bit of excitement, according to Dolph Lundgren. That’s one of the reasons why he opted to launch a vodka brand over other spirits that are popular with celebrities right now, such as Tequila.
Feeling that the category has become “a little boring”, Lundgren is looking to change a few perceptions and misconceptions about the spirit with his brand, Hard Cut. “I think people aren’t really excited about vodka – they think all vodkas taste the same. They don’t know that they are made from either grain, potatoes or corn – even grapes.
“There are great-tasting vodkas and bad-tasting vodkas, but most people think it’s just something you have to pour orange juice over to be able to drink.”
Being Swedish, vodka is also his spirit of choice. “Back in Sweden, people don’t really drink Tequila much,” he says. He made the call to start Hard Cut around six years ago with his wife Emma Krokdal.
“We were up in Santa Barbara at the time. I was looking for a vodka, but there was really nothing I liked. Everything tasted pretty bad and sharp.
“At some point, I was complaining too much, and Emma said: ‘Why don’t you make your own? You’re a chemical engineer. You’ve been to Russia and you’re from Sweden. You drink a lot of vodka.’
“That evening, I checked out the vodka section online. It looked boring compared with Tequila, and other liquors seemed to be more vibrant and had more fun. So, I set out to find [a vodka] that I can drink straight up and also one that would make the brand cool, fun and a little bit badass – like The Expendables.”
Hard Cut, smooth finish
Lundgren has been in hundreds of action movies over the years, perhaps most notably in Rocky IV as Soviet boxer Ivan Drago, but Hard Cut marks a late-career pivot for the Swedish actor and martial artist.
That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ill-equipped for the job, though. Lundgren has a background in chemical engineering and, besides being a fun fact, it also holds some merit for spirit production.
“I’d forgotten a lot of it and it was years ago, but I did brush up on distillation,” he says. “Fractional distillation, continuous distillation – I kind of understand how it works. Of course, making quality spirits was not something I was studying in college, but it’s a slightly different offshoot of regular distillation.
“I was involved in petroleum engineering when I was doing my thesis. Eventually, I’ll go up to Idaho and get a little more immersed in that part of the process. But I’m pleased that I can use my engineering to some degree in this.”
Hard Cut is produced in Idaho, with the spirit distilled from potatoes from the region and water from the Rocky Mountains. This combination is how Lundgren says the vodka gets its smoothness.
He and Krokdal drank “more vodka than usual” to find something that held up to their standards.
“We tried at least 30 to 40 different vodkas. We found one we liked in Poland, but we couldn’t make a deal, and there was one we liked in Sweden. We started looking at America because it got really complicated with overseas companies, and we happened to find this distiller in Idaho. They also used grain, but it was the potato vodka in particular that we liked.
“They can adjust the distillation process, so we had like 15 different samples of that particular vodka. We picked the one we liked the best, and it turned out to be a smart choice, because it’s made in America, which obviously is much easier for us now because of the tariffs. And, also, it’s close by.”
Beyond its potato base, Hard Cut’s 45% ABV has been another talking point. When it first launched, Lundgren was quoted as saying: “We needed to create the perfect liquid for a vodka world gone soft.” He backs this up again, emphasising the need to have something strong and with a point of difference that suits the brand.
“We have a one-liner: ‘Hard Cut, smooth finish’,” he says. “We like the higher alcohol content because when I was playing around with it, we wanted to do something different and make it a bit badass.
“There were some people who were against it. Non-alcoholic drinks are in and people are consuming less alcohol now, but I always thought: ‘No, we want to stick with it. We want to be tough.’ If you like it, you like it, but if you don’t – well, drink something else.”
He compares Hard Cut to the “boozy XXL wines” that are currently popular in the US with younger generations, which are at a higher alcohol content of 16% to 17%. “They’re selling really well,” he says. “I dunno if it’s in the zeitgeist or something, but hopefully it’s going to work for us.
“The strength makes it a little more fun when you open the bottle. It’s supposed to be enjoyable. You go to the gym, work out or go for a run – that’s healthy. When you want to have a drink, have a drink. I don’t drink all the time, but when I have a drink, I want it to be fun and special.”
Mass appeal
While he’s aware of some of the pushback that can come with being a celebrity-owned spirits brand, Lundgren isn’t planning on getting caught in that web. Hard Cut is now his day job.
“I’m trying to go out there and do as much as possible,” he says. “Movies are something I now do as a hobby, more or less. We’re going to Bar Convent Brooklyn first of all [the trade show was held in New York from 10-11 June]. That’s the biggest US trade show. I’m going there, we have a stand and we’re doing a launch in New York state as well as in Manhattan with a big party.”
Eventually, he says he will go to more trade shows, adding that “we’re trying to attract bartenders, spirits writers and beverage experts, and people that can appreciate the product.
“I can appeal to the masses because action movies appeal to regular people, but we’re also trying to show that we really care about what’s in the bottle – and we do.”
It’s still early days for the brand, having only been around for a few months, but Lundgren also looks forward to bringing the vodka to a wider audience, such as the UK.
“I was there for a movie last month. I went to a couple of bars, and we gave some samples to people. Our mixologist, Phillip Duff, who is a consultant for Hard Cut – we call him a ‘director of vodka’, as he loves vodka – he has a lot of connections in London. It would be fun to launch there.
“It would be great to get into top bars because other people look up to these mixologists and bartenders. In London, we visited the American Bar at the Savoy. We were also in Velvet at The Corinthia with Salvatore Calabrese.”
He doesn’t just want Hard Cut on the shelves of the fancy spots, though – he wants to see it everywhere. “High-end places like Nobu, and Madeo over here in California, of course, but also regular bars and even on a cruise ship or liquor stores. It’s a product that anybody can afford.
“I like to give it a classy, rat-pack sort of feel, with a bit of sophistication and fun – but I think it belongs everywhere.”
Early days
While it’s good to have dreams, Lundgren isn’t in a rush. “It’s early days. We are trying to win in California first, where there are 40 million people.
“Eventually we want to go to Europe and so on, but it takes too much time, energy and money to do everything all at once.
“We had some problems getting products here on time at the beginning, then we had some other screwups with labels. We had to replace and restick 40,000 bottles by hand. We purchased 70,000-80,000 bottles and we have to order more because there’s been demand.
“It’s hard to tell 100%, but it looks like there’s going to be much bigger demand than we thought, so that’s a good problem to have.”
As for how Lundgren prefers his Hard Cut, he’s partial to a 5:1 Martini with vermouth and three green Italian olives, which he says is a subtle and very smooth serve. Or, simply straight over a big ice cube in a rocks glass.
“We’re trying to make it a sipping vodka, and we’re trying to educate people a little bit when it comes to vodka. This is a US$26-US$27 bottle – it’s not a hundred bucks like an expensive Tequila, but it’s a quality spirit.
“Vodka is still on top and I think it goes in cycles. There’s been a lot of Tequila, a lot of Bourbon, and other liqueurs, but vodka is generally still the one that everyone drinks. It’s still a pretty good business.”
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