Smirnoff 100 Vodka Review

Smirnoff has released a series of clean, basic vodkas in three proof levels: 80, 90, and 100. While the 80 and 90 may well be options for fans of sipping (or shooting) vodka, the 100 is what you should reach for when batching drinks for a party.

Tasting Notes

Color: Clear

Nose: The first whiff makes this vodka’s high alcohol content apparent, and you’ll also note the corn used as part of the base distillate. That is to say, there’s a distinctive, albeit mostly subtle, sweetness on the nose.

Palate: Undiluted, the 100 proof dominates, quickly overwhelming the sweet cereal-grain flavors and slight oiliness on the palate. When diluted slightly, the sweetness of the cereal-grain notes are still there, but much milder, and the flavor hollows out a bit.

Finish: Cracker dry and lip-smacking, with a little bit of pepper that lingers on.

Our Review

The big party! You can grab a 1.75-liter bottle for around 40 bucks, give or take, and make cocktails for a nicely sized crowd. It’s affordable, entirely a blank slate in terms of flavor, and leaves you with a snappy, dry finish that is entirely inoffensive and disappears like a ghost into a mixer-driven drink. It’s also about the party in that its high proof plays well with big, juicy, diluting mixers on the rocks; you won’t lose the flavor-driving punch of the alcohol in the mix. 

It is not, however, a vodka for use in spirit-forward cocktails such as Martinis or for sipping neat or on the rocks. For the latter, its ABV is simply too high and its flavor too much of a blank slate that the proof isn’t driving the subtle flavor of the spirit itself. But if you’re making a big ol’ party punch or pitcher of Sea Breezes, it’s a great choice.