Ahhhh Smirnoff chose to move into alcopops, or as Bernard Black (Dylan Moran) chooses to christen them in Black Books, "childrens booze".

Without suggesting these should be given to children or anyone under legal drinking age at all (lets try keep away from the Hooch/ advertising aimed at young minds debate) it is in essence how I consider these drinks.

Generally speaking, they look like pop they taste like pop and the percentage is pretty low too. This makes them a fantastic component to a slow starting evening, and fantastic for dancing with (bottle=less spillage and easier to keep an eye on). On the most part though I would go for Smirnoff Ice ahead of other alcopop brands, simply for the sheer quality of them. Unlike many others in the lower price range they do not leave some form of odd syruppy/ sugaryness in your mouth, and in fact go down quite well, very well when I'm in the room.

The flavours are basic (lemon red label, lime black label) but the classics are always the best. They also allow the drink to be considered slightly more adult than the multicoloured multi flavoured multi e-numbered alternatives on the market. It is simple, pure ingredients and less of the "fillers" that tend to end up in these beverages. As a hater of most lagers and ciders, they allow for a decent refreshing drink with a meal out aswell, brilliant on a summers day in the beer garden of your local!

The price however, previous reviews suggest bottles for £1 in some establishments, try £2.80 on for size, not so good, generally i have found these to be more expensive at least in my region than a single vodka and coke/lemonade, and so when on a budget I steer clear and also question the cost a lot, but then maybe I'm just drinking in the wrong places?

All in all a fine offspring of Mr Smirnoff, welcomed with open arms into my nights out/ barbeques/beer gardens....and any other reason i come up with for a good old knees up!