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We tried Smirnoff's new sugar-free alcoholic seltzer to see if it lived up to the hype
(Smirnoff's Spiked Sparkling Seltzer.Leanna Garfield/Business Insider)
Sparkling water has been around for decades, but it has recently become trendy as an alternative to sugary soft drinks.
US seltzer sales have grown by 42% over the past five years, according to the research and consulting firm Beverage Marketing Corp. LaCroix Sparkling Water, which has been sold for 35 years, has recently emerged as one of the most popular brands because of its variety of flavors and lack of calories or sugar.
Predictably, as seltzer has become even more popular, some companies have begun to launch alcoholic versions of the beverage. SpikedSeltzer launched in 2013, and new brands like Nauti Seltzer, Truly Spiked And Sparkling, and White Claw Hard Seltzer all debuted this year.
Smirnoff is the most recent brand to jump on this beverage trend, with its Spiked Sparkling Seltzer becoming available across the US in late October.
The new drink comes in three flavors — cranberry lime, watermelon, and orange mango — and contains 4.5% alcohol, about the same as light beer. A six-pack of 12-ounce cans retails for $8.99.
I tried all three kinds — and found them to be subpar. I started with the cranberry lime flavor, which tasted fairly similar to normal seltzer. It turned out to be the best one because it's the most subtle; both the watermelon and the orange mango were overly sweet and left an unpleasant, artificial aftertaste. I wouldn't choose to buy any of them again.
(Smirnoff's Spiked Sparkling Seltzer.Leanna Garfield/Business Insider)
The taste of Smirnoff's spiked seltzers is — despite branding efforts to convince consumers otherwise — actually fairly similar to that of Smirnoff Ice. Both are carbonated, flavored malt beverages, though Ice beverages have stronger, sweeter flavors.
The difference, however, is that Smirnoff is pitching the new seltzer beverage, which contains 90 calories and no added sugar, as a healthier alternative.
The can's label says "no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives, only natural flavors" and "zero sugar." The ingredients are not listed on the can, which left me wondering how it still tasted so sweet. Smirnoff later clarified that the label meant "zero sugar added" beyond the sugars created by the fermentation process.
Krista Kiisk, the brand director of flavored malt beverages at Diageo (which owns Smirnoff), told Business Insider the company was trying out seltzer because many customers were concerned about their calorie intake.
"Over half of consumers also don't feel that there are enough low-calorie alcoholic options available to them and typically have to move outside of the malt beverage category to wine or spirits to find the right option," she said.
Kiisk said Smirnoff was not marketing the seltzer toward any particular demographic group. If spiked seltzers become more popular, it will most likely be for the same reason that LaCroix's sales jumped — carbonated water is viewed as a low-calorie alternative to soda, so spiked versions could be seen as low-calorie alternatives to beer or sugary cocktails.
Smirnoff's new product is also designed to satisfy consumers who may not enjoy the taste of beer or alcoholic beverages. But for those of us who don't fall into that category, mixing your alcohol of choice into some normal sparkling water might be a better option.
Correction — An earlier version of this article said SpikedSeltzer launched this year. It actually came out in 2013.
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