Smirnoff Red, White & Berry Vodka Review

This cherry, citrus, and blue raspberry vodka tastes artificial—but what else would you expect from a bottle that looks like a Firecracker Popsicle? The spirit is best served ice cold to tamp down the concentration of flavors for what you’ll almost certainly be using it for: shots.

Tasting Notes

Color: Clear

Nose: Extremely concentrated, candied, artificial cherry aroma

Palate: It has a distinctively oily texture, with flavors of concentrated cherry and lime cordial. When chilled with ice, the strong cherry-cough-drop taste is wrestled under control, and a little bit of lime zest makes itself known.

Finish: A residual aftertaste of sweet, concentrated artificial berry that leads into a faintly bitter, almost metallic finish

Our Review

Smirnoff first launched its Red, White & Berry flavor to coincide with the 2016 presidential election, when alcohol was indeed in order. The company makes no bones about the flavored vodka’s intended use, and it has become popular enough on college campuses—and in shot glasses—to warrant a regular spot on Smirnoff’s seasonal lineup. 

The spirit inside is clear, but it tastes distinctly of summer. As you might expect from a bottle that looks like an ice-cream-truck treat, it has concentrated-yet-artificial flavors of cherry, citrus, and blue raspberry. (Fun fact: Blue raspberry, also called whitebark raspberry, is a real thing, although the flavor here is almost certainly not found in nature.) 

The flavored vodka has a lower proof than most vodkas—60 compared to the typical 80—making it easy fodder for shots. But you should chill it before tossing it back to mute the artificial flavors.