Ranking Popular Smirnoff Ice Flavors From Worst To Best
Smirnoff Ice: Every under-21 college student's favorite bottled malt beverage. They're sweet, they're flavored, and if you have enough of them, you'll definitely feel it the next day, especially if you aren't a part of the under-21 crowd. But while Smirnoff Ice used to be beloved pretty much only by drinkers who didn't have enough experience at the bar to actually know what to order, these days, we'd like to think that they're consumed a bit more widely. As drinkers start appreciating low-ABV beverages more, it makes sense that the conservative 4.5% ABV of a Smirnoff Ice would emerge as a solid option.
For those who just can't get behind the flavors of hard seltzers, Smirnoff Ice will do the trick. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and the recipe developers definitely don't go easy on the flavoring. If you're looking for something fun and easy to sip while you're enjoying summer days in the sun, you may just want to turn to a Smirnoff Ice.
However, you may soon realize that not all Smirnoff Ice flavors are created the same. If you want to make sure you get the good stuff, take a close look at which flavors we like best — and those we don't like at all. It may guide you in the right direction.
Watermelon Mimosa
Try as we might, we just can't be too mad at Smirnoff Ice's watermelon mimosa flavor debacle. It sounds good, it really does. But take one sip, and you'll realize why the watermelon mimosa ranked the worst out of any flavor on this list. To be fair, we've never tasted artificial watermelon anything that truly tasted good, but this stuff is pretty unpleasant. It basically just tastes like a piece of watermelon candy — if that watermelon candy had been sitting in your kid's forgotten trick-or-treating bag at the bottom of the pantry for the last decade.
We're not really sure where they're getting the mimosa from because this drink tastes overwhelmingly of fake watermelon, so we assume they're just using the word to make this drink more marketable. Though an alcoholic drink with real watermelon juice would probably taste incredible, that's far from what you're getting with this Smirnoff Ice flavor. Our advice? Just go for one of the many other options at your disposal.
Pineapple
Another Smirnoff Ice flavor that's just not doing it for us? The pineapple. Like the watermelon, this one doesn't come as a big surprise. It's really hard for any company to make artificial pineapple taste like the real stuff, and Smirnoff Ice definitely didn't achieve the mission. The first thing you'll notice upon opening the bottle and taking a sip is the shocking sweetness. Of course, that's not unheard of with an alcoholic bottled drink like this one, but the sugar content still kind of blew us away at first. Once you get used to that, you'll notice that there is quite a bit of acidity to balance it out, but it's somehow just not enough.
This flavor tastes like it's so laden with sugar that you'd have a problem finishing the whole bottle. And considering the low alcohol content, you probably wouldn't even feel a slight buzz before having to tap out because of the taste. If you're not a big drinker or want to take it easy and truly enjoy the flavor, then the pineapple may be the way to go. But for those who would like to enjoy more than a single drink, this flavor just may have your stomach hurting before you even get halfway through the first.
Peach Bellini
It's really a shame that Smirnoff Ice decided to name this flavor after one of the most celebratory brunch drinks of all time because a real peach Bellini is an undeniable joy and treasure. Add champagne to peach puree, and you have a breakfast drink that would rival even the most luxurious cup of coffee in the world. But if you're hoping for a similar experience when you open a Smirnoff Ice peach Bellini, you're likely to be wildly disappointed.
As you may have expected, this drink is sickly sweet. Artificial peach flavoring is hard to pull off without a ton of sugar, and it doesn't seem like they went light on it in this recipe. Frankly, it's hard to drink, even if you usually like the flavor of artificial peach. To be honest, we're not picking up on the champagne notes at all apart from the bubbles, but we don't really think that counts on the flavor front. Maybe this drink could be salvaged if you decided to use it as a mixer, but we wouldn't go out of our way to get this flavor when there are so many better options available to you.
Hurricane Punch
If you're looking for an overwhelming flavor with an underwhelming amount of actually detectable fruit-derived qualities, then look no further than Smirnoff Ice's hurricane punch, ostensibly named after the Hurricane cocktail. Like many of the other flavors in Smirnoff's lineup, this drink is super sweet. But unlike many of the other varieties, you can't even really tell where the sweetness is coming from here — it just tastes like a mess of artificial flavoring so strong that it cancels everything else out.
This drink probably could have been good if they made the flavors a bit lighter and less intense. But as it stands, it basically tastes like you're taking a big swig of four different cold medicines combined into one. Plus, once you see the drink's ridiculously brightly colored hue, there's a good chance you won't even want to take a swig in the first place. Maybe this would be passable as a mixer, but beyond that, we wouldn't recommend giving it a try.
Green Apple
Personally, we're not huge fans of the green apple Smirnoff Ice flavor. It has an unnatural tartness that you'd never experience with a real green apple, and the sweetness doesn't do it any favors either. However, it ranks higher than some of our other least favorites on this list simply because if you like green apple artificial flavoring, there's an excellent chance you're going to love this stuff. It has that apple-tini vibe to it that was so popular a few decades ago, and if you've never really let go of that era, then you'll probably want to indulge in this easily drinkable libation.
That being said, if you don't like apple-flavored candy, then this is not going to be the drink for you. The aggressive tartness could be a selling point for those who can't fight their way through the sweeter options on this list, but it'll still taste like you're sipping on something made for a child.
Black Cherry
Black cherry is the best flavor of so many different products out there, so we were really looking forward to giving the black cherry Smirnoff Ice a try. It just seems like something black cherry flavoring would go perfectly with: that fizziness and touch of malt liquor should pair well with artificial cherry perfectly, right? But, alas, we were not as impressed with this flavor as we wanted to be. You do have a nice tartness to this drink, but that tartness is wholly necessary simply because of how much sugar you've got going on. If they cut down on the sweetness, that intense tart flavoring probably wouldn't be necessary.
Our main problem is that this stuff straight up tastes like cough medicine. Like, if we didn't know better, we would swear that there was Robitussin mixed into the bottle. If you're the kind of person who genuinely enjoys the flavor of cough syrup (hey, those people exist), then the black cherry flavor is everything you've been looking for and more (but, like, don't mix this stuff with actual cough syrup). But if you, like us, have traumatic memories of being force-fed medicine as a child when you had a bad cold, you're probably going to want to avoid the black cherry flavor like, well, the plague.
Mango
If there's one flavor that always sounds intriguing, it's mango. Maybe it's because fresh mangoes are so juicy, so tart, so similar to candy but somehow much, much better. Or maybe it's just because artificial mango flavoring is better than a lot of other artificial flavors. Whatever the case may be, we weren't totally wowed by Smirnoff Ice's mango flavor, but that's not to say it was bad in the slightest. We like that this flavor had a touch of savoriness to it that we didn't get from a lot of the other flavors. Plus, it seems like the touch of tartness here isn't totally overpowered by the sugar, and for that, we're truly grateful.
The color definitely throws it off for us, though. The stuff basically just looks like watered-down orange juice, which doesn't make us feel confident that what we're sipping isn't completely terrible for us. But since we could probably drink two or three of these in a row without getting tired of the taste, the mango flavor ranks in the middle of our list.
Strawberry
For some people, strawberry-flavored anything is unparalleled. There's that intense sweetness with just a touch of acidity to keep things interesting. To us, strawberry Smirnoff Ice tastes like something we would have enjoyed freshman year of college when we wanted to drink but couldn't stomach a beer or even a shot of vodka from a plastic water bottle. There's nothing too interesting going on here, but the strawberry flavoring does just enough to make the drink taste pretty decent overall. You do get the standard strawberry flavor here, though it tastes fresher than a lot of other strawberry-flavored drinks we've tried.
Basically, if you like artificial strawberry, this stuff will probably be a hit. If you're looking for something new, interesting, or unique, you may be disappointed on the strawberry Smirnoff Ice front, but it's not bad enough that you'll want to spit it out. It's a solid choice if you're wondering which Smirnoff Ice flavor to try first.
Margarita
What do you do when you're feeling like a margarita but can't be bothered to mix one up yourself? If you want to keep things simple, you can grab a margarita-flavored Smirnoff Ice. Let's get one thing straight: This isn't really a proper margarita, so if that's what you're expecting, you're likely to be disappointed. The main difference is the fact that you're not going to enjoy the taste of tequila in this drink. That's what we love about a margarita, so it's a bit of a let-down that you don't get that in this drink, but for those who aren't big fans of tequila, that may just be a selling point.
Mostly, this drink just tastes of lime, but there is a savory quality to it that reminds us of a salted rim. It almost has a 7-Up-like quality to it, so if you're a soda fan, you're probably going to like this too. While it's not our favorite flavor of the bunch, it's a safe choice if you're trying to appeal to a large group of people with different tastes.
Red, White, and Berry
When you're looking for a bottled beverage to enjoy on a hot day, you can't go wrong with something that straight-up tastes like a popsicle, and that's what you're going to get from the red, white, and berry flavor of Smirnoff Ice. You may dig or dis the patriotic vibe it has going on, but taste-wise, we wouldn't mind if you handed us this stuff at a backyard BBQ. Essentially, this drink tastes like those bright blue popsicles you would always enjoy as a kid when the summer weather reached intense temps. Upon first sip, you'll notice that it's super refreshing, but a distinct sweetness soon takes over.
If we had to assign a more well-known flavor to this drink, we'd probably just call it blue raspberry — that's definitely the vibe we're getting here. At the same time, you may notice some of the same flavors from the black cherry bottle as well. There are better flavors in the lineup, but we can't deny that this one is fun for those hot summer days when you're out in the sun.
Grape
When was the last time you had grape-flavored anything that actually tasted like real grapes? If you're like us, never. Artificial grape is its own flavor, and if you like it, then you know it's one of the best artificial flavors out there. That's why we're fans of grape Smirnoff Ice. This stuff isn't necessarily going to blow your mind because you've probably had a million other drinks that have tasted just like it before. If you've ever had a grape Fanta, you can guess what you're getting into here. Of course, the malt liquor imparts a slight taste on the standard grape-iness, but it's nothing too out there.
Blessedly, it's not as intensely sweet as most of the other Smirnoff Ice flavors on this list, and for that, we are very grateful. But don't worry — it still has enough sweetness that fresh 21-year-olds probably won't have a hard time choking it down.
Triple Black
Let's just start off by saying that you're not getting anything too revolutionary when you buy a pack of triple black Smirnoff Ice. Though the name is eye-catching, the drink itself is fairly standard, though we do think it's one of the better flavors in the Smirnoff Ice lineup. You're mostly just getting notes of lime here. But the thing that sets this flavor apart from most of the others is the fact that it's much less sweet than most Smirnoff Ice flavors. In fact, it's not too far off from a lemon-lime sparkling seltzer.
Although it's nothing groundbreaking, we think that the triple black flavor probably has more mass appeal amongst those who aren't used to super-sweet drinks. If you prefer something on the milder side with a kick of acidity, you're probably going to enjoy this flavor. But since it's not too out there, you could always just use it as a mixer if you find that it's not sweet enough for your taste.
Pink Lemonade
It's hot out, and all you want is an ice cold drink as you enjoy the sun and (hopefully) the water. Of course, you could always drink beer or a seltzer, but if you're like us, what you really want is a lemonade. And if that lemonade could be spiked, it would be even better. Luckily, that's just what you're getting when you opt for the pink lemonade flavor of Smirnoff Ice. It's just what you would expect: a sweet, tart lemon flavor tinged with a hint of raspberry. The flavor itself is uncomplicated — it tastes similar to the pink Minute Maid lemonade you probably bought from your school's vending machine from time to time.
We don't always want a Smirnoff Ice, but when we do, we want a flavor that's unfussy and doesn't take itself too seriously. We'll pass up the toxic-colored green apple and sweet strawberry flavors any day for a pink lemonade Smirnoff Ice.
Screwdriver
We totally understand that not everyone may agree with this ranking, but we have to admit that we actually really love the screwdriver flavor of Smirnoff Ice. It actually tastes really, really similar to the vodka and orange juice drink you can order in the bar. It has that distinctive orange juice flavor that you associate with the classic vitamin-C packed cocktail, although some might also compare it to a Sunny D flavor-wise. As lifelong, die-hard Sunny D fans, it's no wonder this flavor is one of our favorites of the bunch.
The noticeable difference between a real screwdriver and this bottled beverage is the fact that an actual screwdriver tastes a lot stronger. You can barely taste the alcohol in this drink, which is probably why people buy it in the first place. Of course, if you're feeling wild, you can always add an extra shot (but you didn't hear it from us).
Original
Sometimes, you can't mess with the classics, and that's certainly the case when it comes to original Smirnoff Ice. It's about as simple as you can get: a sparkling beverage with a light, easygoing citrus-y taste. There's some sweetness there as well, but it's much less pronounced than in many of the other flavors. We're getting a lemon-lime vibe from this drink, but it's heavier on the lemon than it is on the lime. It's super easy to drink, and once you take a sip, you'll understand why it's the original — it's hard not to like.
Of course, it may not be as flashy or as interesting as some of the wilder flavors on this list, but its subtlety is all part of the reason we like it. If you want to enjoy a Smirnoff Ice without developing a cavity and ingesting a ton of artificial colors, then the original flavor may be just what you're looking for.
Raspberry
Artificial raspberry flavor is the ideal of all artificial flavors. It, naturally, tastes nothing like any real raspberry you've ever eaten, but there's still such a familiarity to it that, if you're like us, you can't get enough of it. That's why the raspberry Smirnoff Ice flavor ranks in first place. It's definitely not a perfect drink for everyone. In fact, it's not really something we would drink on the regular. But when you're looking for a drink that's juicy, fruity, easy to drink, and not too much to think about, a raspberry Smirnoff Ice can be a nice way to get the night started.
Essentially, this drink just tastes like a soda, so if you typically like berry-forward sparkling drinks, this one is likely going to be a hit in your household. But just a fair warning: You might end up with a pink tongue if you try to drink more than a few sips of one of these.