Smirnoff is one of the most prominent vodka producers globally. Consistently being ranked as the best-selling vodka worldwide as reported by The Spirits Business. The publication shares that Smirnoff’s sales saw a 6% increase in 2022, selling 28.1 million cases, an improvement from 26.5 million in the previous year.
The success of Smirnoff can be attributed not only to the classic No. 21 vodka but also to its extensive range of 26 different flavors and zero-sugar infusions. Striving to continually delight their customers, the company has expanded its product line to include seasonal, limited-release flavors. Initially, Smirnoff Peppermint Twist and Red, White & Berry were introduced as limited-release products, but due to their popularity, they were incorporated into the company’s regular product line. Smirnoff even created vodka-filled Christmas ornaments one year.
For the festive season of 2023, Smirnoff is bringing to the table a limited-release Red, White & Merry vodka. We decided to give this holiday spirit a try. As a seasoned Sommelier and writer specializing in wines and spirits, my two decades of experience tasting and critiquing various vodka brands and products came in handy for this review. Here’s what we thought.
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Smirnoff Red, White & Merry vodka is a gluten-free liquor that pairs natural flavors with certified colors in order to offer a holiday-inspired spirit. The palate offers notes of orange, cranberry, and ginger. The flavor profile is inspired by the boutique 2022 offering from the company’s Smirnoff Ice seasonal release, Red, White & Merry Ice Holiday Punch, which had hints of cranberry, black cherry, blood orange, and ginger.
Each 1.5-ounce serving of Red, White & Merry’s 60-proof vodka clocks in at 89 calories and presents an attractive pink hue. As reported by Medical News Today, this calorie count is slightly below that of an unadorned ‘shot and a half’ of vodka, which typically has 96 calories. The marginally lower calorie count may be attributed to the slightly reduced alcohol by volume (ABV) in flavored vodkas. This is a consequence of dilution that occurs when sugars and other flavors are added. The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives specifies a minimum ABV of 40% for standard, unflavored vodkas. In contrast, Smirnoff’s holiday offering features an ABV of 30%.
For those with a penchant for handcrafted, cranberry-infused vodka, Smirnoff offers an appealing alternative. With Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry holiday bottle, there’s no need for the laborious crushing, straining and waiting involved in DIY infusions. The flavor of cranberry features prominently in this handy, 750ml bottle.
Like all Smirnoff vodka distributed in the US, this gluten-free variant derives from corn. The distillation process typically renders most vodka gluten-free, regardless of its base being wheat, barley, other grains, potatoes, grapes, or corn. However, using corn as the primary ingredient provides reassurance for those on celiac-friendly diets. Smirnoff ensures that no hidden gluten-containing components are added to its flavorings.
The spirit is triple-distilled to yield a well-balanced taste. This triple distillation process acts as a purification method for the vodka, allowing for a palatable experience free from contaminants with softer natural flavors and a rounded off characteristic.
Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry boasts the taste of citrus and berry fruit, enhanced with the warming, spicy notes of ginger. It echoes familiar sensations we associate with holiday flavors, such as the cozy spiced mulled wine, cranberry sauce, and gingerbread. We put the vodka to the test – both neat in a tulip-shaped wine glass with no ice and over ice in a rocks glass. The tulip glass choice is due to its ability to amplify the vodka’s aromatic profile because the shape of the glass plays a crucial role in intensifying these aromas and directing them toward the nose.
Our sampling revealed that the vodka gives off a fresh, fruity scent, fulfilling the ripe red berry and zesty citrus descriptions of the product. The vodka offers a dense, syrupy consistency, akin to a honeyed, sweet syrup during the tasting. The flavor is saccharine and fruity, with cranberry being the predominant taste on the front palate while a somewhat artificial, heavily sweet flavor marks the finish. The tasting notes include more of berry and cherry instead of citrus. We found ourselves desiring a more pronounced citrusy flavor and a stronger presence of the zesty, warming, and spicy ginger. Ice does help temper the sweetness, yet the strongest flavor remains to be cranberry.
In spite of Smirnoff being a globally renowned and top-selling vodka brand, it does not inflate its prices. Smirnoff No. 21 vodka is one of the more economical vodka choices available in the market. The brand’s flavored vodka varieties adhere to similar pricing structures, averaging around $14 for a 750ml bottle of Smirnoff Red, White & Merry, similar in price to the brand’s Peppermint Twist and Pink Lemonade vodka variants.
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.
Nevertheless, Smirnoff’s vodka primarily exhibited a cranberry flavor and so we set it up against Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka for comparison. This is also made from a corn base, similarly to Smirnoff, and consequently is naturally gluten-free. Availability and pricing of the Texas-produced vodka are nearly identical to Smirnoff’s.
The alcohol content in Deep Eddy Cranberry vodka is a little more than Smirnoff’s, at 35% ABV, and it undergoes distillation ten times as opposed to Smirnoff’s three times. The added distillation processes result in ultra-smooth vodka with a neat, balanced flavor profile and smooth texture. The vodka involves actual cranberry juice rather than natural flavorings, which gives it a more genuine and tart cranberry flavor compared to what Smirnoff provides. Pure cane sugar is also incorporated into Deep Eddy’s, crafting a perfect balance of sweetness and tart fruitiness.
In terms of purchasing a bottle of Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry this holiday season, we appreciate any product that can immerse us into the festive mood. Our hopes were high for Smirnoff’s Red, White & Merry vodka. We like its gluten-free nature and its alcohol content, which is lower than what other vodka products offer. The alcohol being affordable and widely available across the country till the end of the year is also worth noting.
However, Smirnoff’s vodka was found to be best used as a fundamental ingredient in cocktails that include other powerfully flavored mixers. This makes us question if it wouldn’t have been better to use a regular, unflavored vodka since anyway we need additional juices and mixers to realize the fruity, spicy taste that the flavored vodka claims to offer. On the positive side, we did find that the bright red packaging it comes in is quite attractive. It would certainly liven up a bar cart and would make an attractive gift for any vodka connoisseur.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
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