Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Seagram's Extra Smooth Vodka
Seagram’s is a corporate name synonymous with liquor and alcoholic beverages. Most every drinker among us has sampled one or more Seagram’s products and this company’s brands can be found in most every tavern and restaurant across the United States and Canada.
Probably the most basic type of liquor is vodka. It is the most versatile of all liquors and it has characteristics that make it a suitable mixing ingredient with a wide range of other beverage products. Seagram’s produces a few types of vodka, and the one with the greatest popularity is Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka, a distilled spirit that goes down easy.
Basic Characteristics of This Liquor:
Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka pours out clean and clear, with an aroma that is alcoholic, medicinal, and in many ways similar to a baking extract. The liquid is light and flows freely from the bottle to the glass, yet it is still rich enough to leave a stringy pattern on the sides of your cup.
Taken straight, this vodka features tastes that include vanilla, alcohol, and just a small amount of graininess. Diluting with water or club soda makes these flavors easier to bear, since the straight- up method can often be a little too harsh for some.
Seagram’s produces this vodka at its facility in Lawrenceburg, Indiana using its own five- column distillation process that takes advantage of the mineral- rich water in the local vicinity. Grains are the only ingredient used in the production of this product which has an alcoholic strength of 80 proof (40 percent), with 65 calories, zero fat, zero protein, and zero carbohydrates in a one- ounce (30 ml) serving.
Drinks Made with This Liquor:
Seagram’s Vodka can be used in all sorts of alcoholic drinks. Here’s a sampling of some popular drinks you can make with this liquor:
Screwdriver:
1 oz. Seagram’s Vodka
3 oz. Orange Juice
Probably the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage calling for vodka, this drink is made by pouring the liquor over ice then pouring the orange juice on top.
Cape Codder:
1.5 oz. Seagram’s Vodka
3 oz. Cranberry Juice
Lime wedge
Pour the vodka and cranberry juice into a highball glass over ice, then add a lime wedge for garnish.
Madras:
1.5 oz. Seagram’s Vodka
4 oz. Cranberry Juice
1 oz. Orange Juice
Lime wedge
In a highball glass, pour vodka, cranberry juice, and orange juice over ice, then add a lime wedge for garnish.
Seabreeze:
1.5 oz. Seagram’s Vodka
4 oz. Cranberry Juice
1 oz. Grapefruit Juice
Combine all ingredients in a highball glass containing ice and serve.
Vodka Martini:
1.5 oz. Seagram’s Vodka
.5 oz. Dry Vermouth
Shake the two ingredients with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass. Add an olive for garnish.
Vodka Collins:
1.5 oz. Seagram’s Vodka
4 oz. Sweet and Sour mix
Club soda
Combine vodka and sweet and sour mix by either shaking or stirring. Pour into Collins glass over ice, then fill balance of glass with club soda. Garnish with slices of lemon and orange and a cherry.
Final Thoughts:
Vodka is one of the most basic of all liquors, and it’s the one product you can count on finding at virtually any bar. Tavern and restaurant owners may not always offer some of the more fancy liqueurs, schnapps, and flavored spirits but they almost always offer at least one type of vodka.
Seagram’s is a company well- known in the liquor industry, having made a name for itself with its blended whiskey and extra dry gin. Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka is one of the company’s lesser- known product offerings, accounting for a smaller portion of sales than the company’s other liquors. Its name, which emphasizes the smoothness of the product, is pretty much accurate. It is definitely smoother and easier to drink than other brands of vodka and it offers a taste that is mostly neutral, even though I was able to detect a slight flavor of vanilla.
Vodka is known for having little taste or distinction, making it a good liquor to use when you want to spruce up your favorite beverage with an alcoholic kick without changing the actual taste too much. In many ways, I find that Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka is really a little too neutral. I have tried this vodka in several different drinks and it’s easy to tell that this is not intended as a premium spirit. That isn’t to say the product is bad. It’s not bad at all and it makes a good choice of liquor for those who want something decent- tasting that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, like many premium products. But at the same time, the taste is a little too ordinary to rank among the world’s great vodkas.
My favorite beverages to use Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka are those with a fruit juice base. This product makes a fine screwdriver, madras, seabreeze, etc. because each of these drinks is already very fruity and, in most cases, people who enjoy these fruit drinks want them to remain fruity. They want their vodka to add an alcoholic kick without changing the taste too much. For this purpose, Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka makes a good choice. On the other hand, I don’t think this is the best type of vodka to use for dry drinks like martinis, vodka/tonic combinations, and the like. For these drinks, I feel that a more premium vodka is in order- one that offers a more distinct flavor profile.
One good thing about this vodka that I already alluded to above is the price. It sells for about $10 per 750 ml bottle, making it one of the medium to low priced brands of vodka. This affordable price makes Seagram’s one of the better products in its price category. It can’t compete with some of the more premium vodka products. But these premium offerings often cost twice as much and they don’t necessarily deliver twice as much quality.
Overall, Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka is a good product offered at an attractive price. The label claims that it’s the “perfect vodka”. I realize that Seagram’s is merely trying to promote sales, but referring to this product as “perfect” is quite a stretch. However, I think it’s still a decent product, great for making a tasty screwdriver, cape codder, or other fruit- based mixed drink.
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