Apparently not the Teenie Bopper Choice Anymore (Smirnoff Ice)

Member Name: Lools_24

Product:	Smirnoff Ice
Date:	07/08/09 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to drink

Disadvantages: Sugary, high in calories

Back in the day when I was 17 Smirnoff Ice was all the rage. After fooling the doormen on pubs we were old enough to be legally wearing layers of make up, my friends and I were straight to the bar ordering Smirnoff Ice's on mass. At the time they were the "in thing" to be seen drinking. Luckily I actually quite liked the taste at the time. Over the last six years my taste buds have become more accustomed to wine and I have to say I have never knowingly ordered a bottle of Smirnoff Ice for myself in a bar over the last few years. A few month back Mr Lools and I had a family party, we stocked up on wine and beer and decided to buy some Smirnoff Ice for my 17 year old cousin, assuming this sort of drink would be more suitable and wine potentially too strong. The four pack of Smirnoff Ice was left after the party as my cousin turned her nose up at the offer of alchopops with the grunt of "ergh Smirnoff Ice is crap". After drinking the bottles one Friday night Mr Lools and I do agree with that statement!

***What Is It***

Smirnoff Ice is what is classed as an alcopop- a mix of Smirnoff Vodka and lemon. It's a fizzy sweet alcholic drink in a bottle which when first launched was heavily criticised for being aimed at the youth market as it was so easy to drink and the taste of alcohol masked by sugar . At the time I had no complaints.... I was the youth market!!


***Packaging***

Smirnoff ice most commonly comes in a 275ml glass bottle. It is clear so you can see the cloudy liquid inside. On the front of the bottle the design is very plain and there is a red Smirnoff logo. The overall bottle design is very similar to a standard bottle of Smirnoff vodka. A bottle top remover is required to open a standard bottle of Smirnoff Ice.

There are also larger sized 1 litre glass bottles available in supermarkets, these have a screw top.


***Price***

The price of Smirnoff Ice varies. In supermarkets the 275ml bottles are sold in packs of 4. There are often offers in Asda for 2 packs of 4 for £6. The standard price is around £4.99 for a pack of 4 bottles.

The price of Smirnoff Ice in pubs and clubs varies dramatically. Smirnoff Ice is not a drink I purchase for myself but have bought for friends when buying a round of drinks. The standard price is around the £3.00 mark. The cheapest I have paid (on a student night) is £1.50 the most expensive (in a club) was £4.50. Certainly not worth the higher price in my opinion!


***The Drink***

The drink is light cloudy colour, not the most appealing to look at. When you open the bottle there is a lemon scent to the drink, this is strong but not overpowering.

The initial taste is quite a sharp lemon taste. This is not bitter and in fact is very refreshing. Providing the Smirnoff Ice is drank Ice cold. If it is not ice cold the initial lemon taste is more unpleasant and actually tastes unnatural sweet. When served iced cold I feel the temperature masks.

The after taste of the drink is very subtle lemon taste but generally Smirnoff Ice leaves a sugary taste after you have swallowed.

The drink is 5% ABV, but you can't taste alcohol at all in the drink. Instead there is a very sweet sugary taste. This is pleasant at first but becomes a little too sickly. After drinking about half the bottle I felt like I needed to brush my teeth as the sugary drink left a gritty coating over my teeth, very similar to what happens when you drink regular Coca Cola.

A bottle of Sminoff Ice has 228 calories in it. Therefore it is not a drink to choose if you are on a diet.

I find a lot of drinks bloat me, but even after drinking one bottle of Smirnoff Ice Mr Lools commented that he was starting to feel full due to the drink being very fizzy. Mr Lools is a (regular) beer drinker which actually confirmed to me just how gassy Smirnoff Ice is for him to complain.


***Overall***

Would I drink it again, probably not. This is certainly not the worst alcopop I have tasted but it is also not the best either. The lemon taste is very refreshing and you can't taste the vodka in the drink at all, but this tastes extremely sweet and sugary and leaves you feeling like you need to brush your teeth as it leaves a coating on teeth. Tied in with making you feeling bloated Smirnoff Ice does not make a good choice of drink for a night out in my books. If you do choose to have it, make sure it's ice cold, otherwise it's unbearable!

Manufacturer: Diageo
Website: http://www.smirnoff.com/

Summary: Refreshing lemon alcopop........ with lots of sugar