Lots of hate for smirnoff, but if you are after a relatively tasteless and clean vodka, it is your best bet by a mile until you get to the £40 mark imo. Awards and such support that as well. If you want to sip vodka on the rocks, Smirnoff isn't your best option for me. However if you want to hide the taste of alcohol, or not taint a cocktail/drink with the flavour of something, or make a drink more alcoholic without changing the flavour too much, Smirnoff is brilliant
I work in a bar, done loads of blind taste tests with customers and the like, and everyone is always suprised by Smirnoff.
in terms of brand name spirits, Smirnoff is the best big brand cheap spirit in it's category in my opinion, Gordons isn't the nicest gin (the %37.5 version at least), Grouse, Bells and Grants are all okay, but nothing like a real scotch. With Gin and Scotch it is worth spending an extra 10 quid a bottle, but if you do that with vodka, the increase in quality isn't as big as with other spirits
atann
1 Sep 17#11
Only Stolie for me
plodging to atann
2 Sep 17#16
When stoli drops to £13 every now n then it's the best at the price . Grey goose is vastly overpriced and all advertising hype. Smirnoff is just nasty stuff . Green mark , Russian standard are OK for chucking coke in and cheap and cheerful . People go on about clean tasting pure vodka .. Grey goose etc , do people actually sit and drink neat vodka on a night out /in ?? Would be a long night methinks . Blind taste tests time after time prove that most people can't tell one from another and grey goose rarely comes near the top .. One test Glenn's came out as the winner ! The only vodka that has a distinctive horrible nasty taste is Smirnoff Red .. It's rank.. Most of the rest taste like .. Errr vodka . But hey if you feel the need to blow £40 on Grey Goose then put tonic or coke in it ,crack on . Or do you sit and sip it neat ,savouring the delicate flavours from northern France wheat fields ? In a 2017 tasting Aldi Tamova voddy won a silver medal award and the cheap aldi gin won a gold .. £9.97 or £14.15 a litre.
Mark_Corrigan1
1 Sep 17#10
Pre-drinks sorted for tomorrow :ninja: :sunglasses:
LeahsMintytoutou
1 Sep 17#7
Just looked online.. red label is their standard vodka 37.5 you see on the shelves all the time.. guess it just sounds better if you add red label lol
akajay07 to LeahsMintytoutou
1 Sep 17#8
Sorry, that's what I was trying to say - they call their standard one 'red label' to differentiate between that and all the other flavours. Apologies for lack of clarity.
LeahsMintytoutou to akajay07
1 Sep 17#9
No probs at all, I'm just abit dumb lol :laughing:
plodging
1 Sep 17#5
Garbage vodka
OrangePotato to plodging
2 Sep 17#14
Agreed, Russian Standard has the best taste/price/quality ratio IMO
DCFC79 to plodging
2 Sep 17#19
In what way is it garbage ?
LeahsMintytoutou
1 Sep 17#2
This maybe a dumb question but what is Smirnoff red label as apposed to Smirnoff? :face_with_monocle:
kwh to LeahsMintytoutou
1 Sep 17#3
That' an easy one, Smirnoff tastes horrible while the Smirnoff Red tastes..... Horrible.
akajay07 to LeahsMintytoutou
1 Sep 17#4
They just use 'red label' to differentiate between the standard stuff and the various other flavours and strengths that they offer.
LeahsMintytoutou to akajay07
1 Sep 17#6
I've never noticed a difference in the stores.. the bottle in the picture looks exactly the same as the Smirnoff vodka in my local corner shop. Does it actually say red label on it? I know smirnoff do different flavours but isn't this vodka the same as Smirnoff vodka :thinking:
Dekard97 to LeahsMintytoutou
2 Sep 17#12
It's their budget line of Vodka (not that I'd rate any Smirnoff label as a premium Vodka). As others have said, it's really not a good vodka at all, bitter and harsh. Stolichnaya and Zubrowka are good, and Grey Goose is superb. Saying that, if it's going in a glass of Coke it doesn't really matter how bad it is.
LeahsMintytoutou to Dekard97
2 Sep 17#13
Agree Smirnoff is just standard supermarket stuff to me.. same as glens, kommissar and the likes :persevere: although I've managed to drink it tonight ok lol
Dekard97 to LeahsMintytoutou
2 Sep 17#17
They all do the job at the end of the day, and indeed the beginning also if that's your bag lol
RUPERTBLAIR
1 Sep 17#1
I'm on a vodka diet, I've lost 3 days already :grin:
Opening post
19 comments
I work in a bar, done loads of blind taste tests with customers and the like, and everyone is always suprised by Smirnoff.
in terms of brand name spirits, Smirnoff is the best big brand cheap spirit in it's category in my opinion, Gordons isn't the nicest gin (the %37.5 version at least), Grouse, Bells and Grants are all okay, but nothing like a real scotch. With Gin and Scotch it is worth spending an extra 10 quid a bottle, but if you do that with vodka, the increase in quality isn't as big as with other spirits
People go on about clean tasting pure vodka .. Grey goose etc , do people actually sit and drink neat vodka on a night out /in ?? Would be a long night methinks .
Blind taste tests time after time prove that most people can't tell one from another and grey goose rarely comes near the top .. One test Glenn's came out as the winner !
The only vodka that has a distinctive horrible nasty taste is Smirnoff Red .. It's rank.. Most of the rest taste like .. Errr vodka . But hey if you feel the need to blow £40 on Grey Goose then put tonic or coke in it ,crack on . Or do you sit and sip it neat ,savouring the delicate flavours from northern France wheat fields ?
In a 2017 tasting Aldi Tamova voddy won a silver medal award and the cheap aldi gin won a gold .. £9.97 or £14.15 a litre.