Smirnoff 8% ABV Seltzer – LOW CARB TOO! {VLOG}
In today’s NJroute22.com VLOG – we declare that “pound for pound,” the new Smirnoff 8% ABV Seltzer is without a doubt the best value LOW CARB seltzer on the market!
Part 1: Why Smirnoff 8% Seltzer is the new KING
To cut to the chase here we’ll tell you why the new Smirnoff 8% Seltzer is the undisputed champ of low-carb spiked seltzers. See Part 2 below for the supporting “math nerd” details. And Part 3 for the carbohydrate info for Smirnoff Seltzers in general.
Putting it simply – this new Smirnoff seltzer is the best value. It’s about HALF the cost (“per drink”) compared to the previous Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzers (which were our long-standing top choice.)
Becomes even more of a clear winner compared to other more expensive brands.
The main reason? Almost twice the alcohol at about the same price per ounce. That’s all you proof you need (and low-carb, of course.) However…
There are caveats. Let’s detail just a few, so you know what to be prepared for:
- There are only two flavors. Blackberry and Blood Orange. The Blackberry was “okay,” and the Blood Orange tasted significantly better. But…
- These drinks are a profound departure from any other kind of “standard” spiked seltzers. They taste almost obnoxiously strong. Akin to a “mixed drink” of hard alcohol. That is why we strongly recommend diluting these (1/4 can at a time) instead of drinking them straight from the can. If you have a short amount of time, and want to pound 2 cans before bed – sure. But for long-term enjoyment – we highly discourage drinking full-strength. You will become destroyed quickly.
Other than that – if you can PACE YOURSELVES and drink them either very slowly – or dilute them as we recommend – you are in for one of the BEST VALUE seltzers on the market.
But it’s up to YOU to preserve those savings. Over-consuming will cost you in more ways than one.
Part 2 (For Math Nerds): Cost comparisons and proof
Now on to the boring part for Math Nerds.
Some basic cost comparisons.
We were curious to see how it stacked up compared to other drinks – so we have a handy reference chart below. But if you don’t want to study Excel – here’s the drift via some easy bullet points:
- One “drink” of regular Smirnoff Hard Seltzer (4.5% ABV) costs around $1.25 each.
- An equivalent “drink” of similar alcohol content with the Smirnoff 8% costs about $0.60 (around half the cost).
Again, we highly recommend you treat one 24-ounce can of this Smirnoff 8% seltzer as FOUR cans of “regular” seltzer. In other words – figure out a way to drink 6 oz. of this at a time (preferably MIXED with other non-alcoholic fluids – such as regular seltzer). You’ll regret it otherwise.
Remember this baseline:
Two 24oz. cans of Smirnoff 8% has the equivalent alcohol as SEVEN (7) 12oz. cans of standard Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer (aka Hard Seltzer).
For comparison (with wine at least),
- One glass of wine (4oz.) of a cheap $8.00 bottle of wine is about $1.33
- One glass of wine of a $15.00 bottle of wine is about $2.50
- One glass of wine from a cheap box of Franzia wine is about $0.60 as well.
Part 3: Carb differences between Smirnoff Spiked Seltzers
In a nutshell – the “carbs” for the Smirnoff (ZERO ADDED SUGAR) Seltzers are very low. The carb difference between the basic 4.5% Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzers and the heavy-duty Smirnoff 8% seltzers are statistically insignificant.
The listed carbs for a standard 4.5% seltzer are 1 gram per 12 oz. can.
It gets a bit complicated for the Smirnoff 8%. Why they had to do this is beyond us.
A 24 oz. can (actually 23.5 oz. but we rounded up) is stated as follows:
- Serving Size: 5 ounces
- Carbs: 0.7 grams per serving
- Servings per can: 4.7 (we recommend 4 servings @ approx. 6 oz. each)
- Total carbs per can: 3.3 grams
So if you use our math from above (i.e., two cans = seven cans), then:
- 7 cans of Smirnoff 4.5% = 7 grams of carbs.
- 2 cans of Smirnoff 8% = 6.6 grams of carbs.
We’d say that is a wash – but if you want to feel giddy – you can say that the Smirnoff 8% is actually lower in carbs by a hair!
Conclusion: New preferred low carb seltzer: Smirnoff 8%!
For purely economic reasons – we will make the Smirnoff 8% our number one go-to seltzer from now on. The issue is finding it. If you can special order it, we recommend that you do it. It was very hard to find.
Since we dilute our drinks anyway – they’re quite enjoyable.
And we love extending the power of our dollar. Spending HALF as much per week is a welcome benefit.
For argument’s sake – let’s just say we used to drink 7 cans of the old seltzer every day for a year. And we switched to the new seltzer for two cans per day for a year. The annual cost is as follows (based on discounted prices).
- One year of Smirnoff 4.5% seltzer (7 x $1.17)(365) = $2989.35
- One year of Smirnoff 8% seltzer (2 x $2.42)(365) = $1762.95
- Total annual savings = $1226.40
THAT IS LIKE AN EXTRA “STIMULUS CHECK!”
For everyone else that drinks straight out of the can – we warn you again to exercise caution. This stuff is potent and isn’t quite as enjoyable when consumed full-strength.
Hope you enjoyed our math and booze fun! Have a great day.
