Smirnoff is one of the most prominent vodka producers in the world. The brand is consistently ranked number one as the best-selling vodka in the world, according to The Spirits Business. The publication reports that Smirnoff’s sales grew by 6% in 2022, selling 28.1 million cases, up from 26.5 million in 2021.

One reason for the consistently high ranking could be due to the extensive vodka offerings Smirnoff provides. In addition to the classic No. 21 vodka, the company makes 26 different flavors and zero-sugar infusions. The company’s desire to deliver products that excite their customers has also led to offering seasonal, limited-release flavors. Smirnoff Peppermint Twist was initially a limited-release product in 2015. Red, White & Berry was also initially a limited-release product in the summer of 2016. Both are now a part of the company’s vibrant flavors product line. One year, Smirnoff even made vodka-filled Christmas ornaments.

For the 2023 holiday season, the company is offering a limited-release Red, White & Merry vodka. We had a chance to try the festive liquor to see if it would get us into the holiday spirit. As a Sommelier and wine and spirits writer, I have taste-tested and reviewed dozens of vodka brands and products over the past 20 years. We drew upon this knowledge for this review. Here are our thoughts.

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Smirnoff Red, White & Merry vodka is a gluten-free alcoholic beverage that blends natural tastes and certified hues to form a drink that highlights the flavors of the festive season, such as orange, cranberry, and ginger. The flavor inspiration is derived from the unique taste of the 2022 limited-time product of Smirnoff’s Smirnoff Ice seasonal release, Red, White & Merry Ice Holiday Punch. The malt beverage’s flavors incorporate cranberry, black cherry, blood orange, and ginger.

Possessing a rosy berry shade, each 1.5-ounce serving of Red, White & Merry’s 60-proof vodka contains 89 calories. The calorie amount is marginally less than a regular shot and a half of unflavored vodka with 96 calories, as reported by Medical News Today. The reduction in calories is probably a result of the alcohol by volume (ABV) being somewhat lower in flavored vodkas than in traditional unflavored varieties that only include water and ethanol. The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stipulates a minimum of 40% ABV in standard, unflavored vodka, while flavored varieties can have a lower ABV owing to the liquor’s dilution upon adding sugars and other flavorings. Smirnoff’s festive product contains 30% ABV.

Smirnoff provides a solution for all cranberry vodka enthusiasts who manually make DIY cranberry-infused vodka each year to savor during the holidays. There will no longer be a necessity to crush, strain, or or most notably, wait, while the vodka steeps for weeks with fresh berries to savor the flavor of an infused drink. Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry holiday bottle offers cranberry taste in a no-mess, simple-to-open 750ml bottle.

Just like all of Smirnoff’s vodka sold in the US, the base ingredient of the gluten-free vodka is corn. Most vodkas are gluten-free since the distillation process removes the gluten, whether derived from wheat, barley, other grains, potatoes, grapes, or corn. Nonetheless, utilizing corn guarantees that the base ingredients of the product are suitable for those with celiac disease. Smirnoff does not include any hidden components that could contain gluten in its flavoring products.

The spirit is triple-distilled to create a balanced taste. The triple distillation process helps purify the vodka, ensuring a smooth palate free of impurities, with lighter natural flavors and a well-rounded character.

Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry promises citrus and berry fruit flavors, complemented by the warming, spicy characteristics of ginger. The combination reminds us of the flavors we enjoy during the holiday season, like warm spiced mulled wine, cranberry sauce, and gingerbread. We tried the vodka neat in a tulip-shaped wine glass without ice and poured over ice in a rocks glass for our tasting. The tulip glass will help maximize the aromatics of the vodka, as the shape of the glass is so important as it helps concentrate the aromas, leading them toward the nose.

We found that the vodka has a fresh, fruity aroma, delivering on the ripe red berry and juicy citrus expectations from the product description. The texture of the vodka is thick, with a dense consistency that coats the mouth in a honeyed, sugary syrup when tasting the product. The taste is sweet and fruity, with a prevailing cranberry flavor on the front palate and a heavy, sugary, somewhat artificial sweetness on the finish. We found berry and cherry flavors rather than citrus. This left us wanting more of a prominent orange citrus taste and searching for the zesty, warming, spicy characteristics that ginger flavoring should provide. Trying the product with ice helps dilute the overall sweetness. However, the vodka’s dominant flavor is cranberry.

Though Smirnoff is one of the world’s most popular and best-selling vodkas, the company does not inflate its price. Smirnoff No. 21 vodka is one of the more affordable vodkas available on the market. The company’s flavored vodka options follow similar pricing guidelines, with the average cost for a 750ml bottle of Smirnoff Red, White & Merry being around $14, similar to the brand’s Peppermint Twist and Pink Lemonade vodkas.

Fitting with the season, the bottle is wrapped like a Christmas present in a red casing, with gold accents and red glitter to bring a little glitz and glamour to the holidays. Following the initial release of the seasonal product on November 1, 2023, Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry vodka will be on sale through the end of the year to compliment any holiday occasion. The vodka is available at alcohol retailers nationwide.

Like any vodka, Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry makes the perfect base for an array of martinis, mixed drinks, and holiday cocktails. Though the vodka’s sweet, fruity flavors are prominent enough to mix the liquor with club soda or seltzer simply, we found it best mixed into cocktails with additional flavored mixers. Beverages like ginger beer, pure cranberry juice, and lemon-lime soda, with garnishes like fresh herbs and citrus wheels, help balance the overall sweetness while enhancing the overall flavor of the vodka.

Use it in cocktails to add fruit-forward flavors to a festive Christmas punch, enhance cranberry orange crush cocktails, or make Ina Garten’s big batch Cosmopolitans, perfect for entertaining a group of friends this holiday season. For those feeling adventurous, we suggest adding it as a cranberry twist on a Moscow mule, intensifying the cranberry flavor in a classic Madras cocktail, or using it in a frozen Cosmo. The icy cocktail is the best use of leftover cranberry sauce we have tasted.

Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry includes such a unique combination of ingredients that no other flavored vodka on the market is exactly like it. Of course, other citrus, ginger, and cranberry vodkas are available. However, Smirnoff is the only one to put the three flavors together.

Smirnoff’s vodka, with its cranberry flavor, was our major taste comparison as we compared it to Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka. Both the brands manufacture their products based on a corn foundation and hence, are considered as naturally gluten-free vodkas. The Texas-made product, similar to Smirnoff’s, has extensive distribution all over the country and is sold for around the same price.

In terms of alcohol content, Deep Eddy Cranberry vodka has a bit more bite than Smirnoff’s with its 35% ABV. Their product goes through the process of distillation notably ten times as compared to Smirnoff’s three times distillation. This additional refinement enables a creation of super smooth vodka. This vodka is characterized by its clean, comprehensive palate and smooth texture. Its authenticity lies in the fact that it’s created with genuine cranberry juice compared to natural flavorings, facilitating a more genuine, sharper cranberry flavor compared to Smirnoff’s. Deep Eddy’s also amalgamates pure cane sugar, ensuring a perfectly balanced taste of sweetness combined with tart fruity notes.

With holiday season around the corner, if you’re considering to buy a bottle of Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry, our opinion is that, we genuinely appreciate a product that tends to help us get into that vivacious, holiday spirit. Although we expected a lot from Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry vodka, we liked how the vodka is gluten-free and comparatively has lower alcohol content than other vodka products. We appreciated that the product is pocket-friendly and is widely available all over the country throughout the year.

However, to our surprise, the optimal use of Smirnoff’s vodka was observed as a base alcohol for cocktails, involving other strong-flavored mixers. This notion raised a question in our minds – If we need to add additional fruit juices and hard mixers to get that fruity, spicy taste, why not use a standard unflavored vodka. However, we found the bright red packaging of the bottle to be very fun and joyful. This is definitely a showpiece vodka that brings a festive appeal to your bar cart or could serve as a sophisticated gift for any vodka enthusiast.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.