Owen Massey > Alcopops > A to Z

Spin the bottle: a consumer's guide to alcopops

Alcopops from A to Z

Alcohol by volume and standard bottle size are given where known. With a few exceptions, brewers are not indicated (because of my incomplete understanding of the drinks market), nor the dates of introduction or withdrawal (because it's so hard to be certain). JavaScript users with certain browsers can navigate by pressing letter keys, and see popup pictures by clicking underlined names.

Can't find the information you need? Try the introduction or frequently asked questions.

Alcola [4.0%] Alcola.

Amazon Mist 'Spirit mixer with cachaça'.

Aqua V [5.0%] 'Alcoholic soda made with a blend of alcohol, water and fruit flavours'.

Archers Aqua [5.0% (was 5.5%), 275 ml] A mixture of Archers peach schnapps with one of cranberry, lime, orange and peach sparkling water. A superb variant on that '80s standby Archers and lemonade. Launched 2001-05-15; the following year we were graced with the addition of raspberry, an unusual flavour but a successful one, and an apparently limited edition apple. Also available in 70 cl bottles. For Christmas 2003, we have 'exotic passion cocktail', which is coconut, mango, passion fruit and pineapple. It tastes a bit like squash.

Bacardi Breezer [5.1% (was 5.4%), 275 ml] 'Bacardi rum refresher' available in lime, orange, peach, pineapple, watermelon and lemon. Peach smells and tastes like squash, or perfume, and is a screamingly artificial pinkish-orange colour; it was no surprise that it was to be discontinued in favour of the new lemon flavour, though it seems still to be on sale. Lemon is also sold as citrus, though possibly only outside the UK. Pineapple is suitably tangy while the wonderful watermelon has the colour of plums and the taste of bubblegums or scratch-n-sniff. In April 2001 a limited edition cranberry flavour was introduced, which is quite darling, although confusingly similar in colour to watermelon; it appears to be a permanent addition to the range now.
One of the first alcopops (introduced in 1994 in lime, orange and pineapple), Breezers are now established as a standard brand and sufficiently successful to have sponsored free public transport in London on New Year's Eve 1999 (later copied by Smirnoff Ice).
Passion fruit was spotted in Australia in the summer of 2001 [GGR]. What is available right now is ruby grapefruit, and the new development of BB minis (200 ml bottles), perhaps to combat the market for shots like Sidekick. Further brand extensions include Diet Lemon (107 calories and no fat, compared to 198 in a standard bottle; does not count towards your 5 daily portions of fruit and veg), which is far from the watery abomination I feared and actually pleasantly sour. Diet Orange & Vanilla (for Christmas 2003; 96 calories) is slightly wrong, though.
Bacardi Breezer official site

Bacardi Rigo [5.4%, 275 ml] Daiquiri, i.e. rum, lime and soda, although it also tastes like economy lemonade cut with lime cordial. Eerie bluish tinge. Nice batwing-textured bottle. [ARD] Introduced in 1998; withdrawn in 2002?

Bacardi Silver A 'clear malt beverage' mixing rum flavouring and citrus, available only in the US. Bacardi Silver O3 claims to blend three orange flavourings (mandarin, valencia and tangerine).

Bad Jelly [15.0%, 55 ml] Vodka jelly (cf. the late unlamented Thickhead) available in blackcurrant, lemon, lime, orange, raspberry or strawberry. Sold in clear plastic pots, apparently served with a cocktail stick. Good fruity jelly, actually, and quite astonishingly potent. The pot claims to hold 55 cl but this is surely a misprint.
Bad Jelly official site

Bahama Buzz [5.4%, 275 ml] Vodka base, many flavours.

Baileys Glide Like Baileys alcochocomilk, but longer. Grrreat!

Bali see Dr Thirsty's Bali

Bambao [5.5%, 275 ml] A Brazilian spirit called cachaça mixed with lime. Distinguishable by the footprint embossed in the bottle. Rather gassy.

Barbados Blue [5.5%, 275 ml] 'White rum, tropical fruit, sparkling water, blue curaçao and coconut'. It's a stunning blue, the blue of dental mouthwash, which would alone be sufficient recommendation, but it also tastes fine: like a fruity Malibu.

Barker's Liquid Gold [4.3%] Vodka and cola.

Barking Frog Withdrawn from sale.

Bartles & Jaymes An American phenomenon in the 1980s, apparently; a 'wine cooler' sold in various fruity flavours like lemonade and 'berry'. Rather surprisingly manufactured by the winery E. & J. Gallo and not marketed in the UK.

Bell's & Cola In a bottle, premixed; also Bell's & Irn-Bru, two great Scottish products combined.

Bite [5.1%, 330 ml] The own-brand alcopop of supermarket chain Asda, possibly renamed. Available in apple, grapefruit, lemon and orange. Suitable for vegans!

Blackadder [5.3%, 330 ml] Snakebite and black. Bottled. Crikey.

Black Ice see Smirnoff Black Ice

Black Jack [5.5%] Jack Daniel's, cola and 'citrus essence'.

Black Star Vodka Ice [4.0%, 275 ml]

Black V A borderline alcopop, being a bizarre mixture of sparkling white wine and Irish stout. It's exactly like fizzy Guinness, to the extent of having a substantial head when poured slowly, and as such anathema to the alcopop drinker.

Blade [9.0%, 275 ml] Extraordinarily potent and quite scrummy mixture of Martini bianco and Eristoff vodka (and carbonated water, naturellement). The colour of champagne and the taste of vermouth. Found in Greece imported by Bacardi Hellas.

Bliss 'Berries' and 'exotic' editions of this white wine mix.

Blue A stablemate to the wants-to-be-definitive Red, this is unspecified fruit plus vodka plus kava kava plus schizandra. (Isn't that a great name for a girl?) Tastes of peaches.

Blue Nun Slinky Based on the wine that's a byword for naffness, not due to launch till 2004.

BoDean's Twisted Tea [5.0%] At last, alcoholic iced tea, and lemon tea too! A US product, naturally, given the much greater popularity of iced tea in the States. A pop group of the same name sued the manufacturers; no news of the outcome.

Boru Black [5.0%, 275 ml] Irish vodka with lemon or orange. Enjoyably bitter.

Breezer see Bacardi Breezer

Ca'quila [5.5%, 275 ml] Pronounced 'cakeela', as the bottle helpfully explains, this curiously-coloured alcopop is an even more curious mix of tequila, lime and what is claimed to be 'organic agave cactus juice' ('some settlement may occur'). I was rather taken with it but another taster found its pungent aroma reminded her of vinegar. Ca'quila Silver exists, replacing the lime with lemon.

Caribbean Kick [4.0%] White rum and one of lime, orange, pineapple and watermelon; sounds nice.

Caribbean Twist [5.4%, 275 ml] 'A tropical blend with superior white rum' - a blend of what? Anyway it's now 'made wine' instead of rum to save duty. Available in five flavours, though I've yet to see them all: lime, orange, pina colada, pineapple and watermelon. 147 calories in a bottle, unless of course you buy the 75 cl bottles.
Caribbean Twist official site

Castaway [4.8%, 200 ml] A 'wine cooler': a 'blend of wine and tropical fruits'. Looks and tastes like cheap orange-and-pineapple squash, although it is slightly effervescent. Stick to Lilt.

Cavela Wine base.

Chekov Ice [4.0%, 275 ml] Defaulting to lemon with lime, orange, watermelon and 'blue' variants; and big 70 cl bottles. Lime tastes like fizzy sweets. Mmm.
There is a rumour of pink grapefruit, tropical and chocolate lime additions to the range at 5.5% abv. I must know.

Claw Alcoholic cola.

Colaholic Alcoholic cola.

Cola Lips [5.0%] Alcoholic cola.

Coomira Coast [5.0%, 275 ml] Spritzer combining New World chardonnay with sparkling water and one of blackcurrant, blueberry and cranberry flavours.

Cranberry Charge [5.3%]

Cutters Cooler [5.4%] White rum mixed with one of lime, orange, pineapple and 'tropical' fruit juices (cf. Caribbean Twist).

Czar Ice see Imperial Czar Vodka Ice

Decoda [5.3%] Alcoholic cream soda. Rather fine.

Demon Ice [5.0%] In blue or white livery.

Diamond Fruzion The only evidence for this is its appearance in an animation on the website of the firm that owns the brand of cider Diamond White [spotted by SA]. It is apparently cider mixed with 'citrus fruit' or 'exotic fruit' flavours.

Diamond Zest [5.0%] Cider and lemonade.

DNA [5.0%, 275 ml] 'Alcoholic spring water with lime and thyme', which sounds delightfully refreshing, like a spritzer; also 'wildberry'. An Australian alcopop launched in 1995. Expansion for 2002 includes apple flavour in Australia and, for the US market, 'Incredi-Blu', oh yes. 2003 sees 'Lemon Crush' and 'Blu-Crush' and, at last, a UK release in Walkabout theme pubs.
DNA official site
DNA US distributors

Doc's [5.0%] Previously Doc Otis, a 'Hard Lemon Flavored Malt Beverage' from the makers of Budweiser. (Non-beer malt beverage appears to be one term used for alcopops in the US.)

Drifter This came in ice (presumably lemon), iron brew, orange and watermelon, but has been discontinued in favour of K2.

Dr Thirsty's [5.0%-5.5%, 275 ml] A range of alcopops from Wychwood. Bali [5.0%] is an alcoholic ginseng drink while Fiji [5.0%] contains kava kava. Lemon and Orange Punch [both 5.0%] are exactly what they say. Sources vary wildly on what might be in Beetlejuice [5.5%, 275 ml] but the claim that it contains brandy is less believable than that it's a mixture of tropical fruit juices, vodka and guarana. Astonishingly, Dr Thirsty's alcopops have even been spotted, off the tourist trail, in Thailand (thanks to Graham Hunt-Crowley for this information).

e33 An 'extra-alcoholic cider' from Australia.

Echo [5.4%, 275 ml] Vodka with iron brew, lemon & lime, orange/tropical or 'ice'. The 'h' in the logo is raised as if it's called Eco.

Edge [5.5%, 275 ml] Gordon's gin with lemon or lime. It sounds no different from an ordinary gee-and-tee (no bad thing) but the lemon flavour's sharp and lime surprisingly sour (at least for an alcopop). So it fills a niche. Sadly withdrawn due to poor sales in 2003.
Review of Edge at Ciao [ARD]

Elements Vodka and four flavours of carbonate cunningly mapped to '70s naffsters Earth, Wind and Fire (is this right?).
Elements official site

EnCore [3.5%, 330 ml] What would you expect from a 'cider spritzer'? Cider watered down in more ways than one? You asked for it. EnCore barely tastes alcoholic and had correspondingly little effect on our panel of hardened tasters.

Eristoff Ice [5.6%, 275 ml] A vodka and lemon mix directly equivalent to Smirnoff Ice, but with Eristoff vodka (made by Bacardi). I found a bottle on sale in a Brussels newsagent, labelled in French and Dutch. There is also, apparently, Eristoff & Orange.

Fcuk Spirit [5.4%, 275 ml] Two flavours, cranberry & grapefruit and ordinary lemon, with fine minimalist labels. Disappointingly still. 'Tingly', according to one tester. Wear the top, use the shampoo, drink the alcopop. Fcuking brilliant marketing. Too good, in fact, because the Portman Group determined that it appealed to underage drinkers and it's since been withdrawn.
Fcuk official site

Fiji see Dr Thirsty's Fiji

Flodka Ice [4.0%, 275 ml] Vodka with lemon ('zest'), iron brew ('amber') or blue ('blue'). One of the weaker options.

Fusion 'by Speed' [4.5%, 340 ml] Vodka and guarana.

Fuzion A ciderpop; cf. Diamond Fruzion.

Ginzing Based on Gordon's gin and now almost certainly of historical interest only.

Glide see Baileys Glide

Glitz Ice [5.4%, 275 ml] Vodka mixed with orange or lemon; barely sparkling, almost flat, but cheap and cheerful. 'Glitz' is written on the label and the cap in the upbeat semi-script font used for City Girl novels. The big surprise is that it's a product of CWS, the normally staid but consumer-championing Co-operative Wholesale Services. Now available in watermelon, pina colada and 'blue'-meaning-coconut and double-size 660 ml bottles [SA].

Godfrey's Ice [275 ml] Peach, melon and strawberry allegedly coming soon across the UK.

Gordon's Edge see Edge

Gordon's Space see Space

Green Fairy Apparently this is absinthe with one of cranberry, lime & lemon and vanilla. It can't be.

Green Hemp & Vodka [4.0%, 250 ml]

Green Mamba [4.5%, 330 ml] Pineapple and grapefruit with lager and cider. One up from snakebite, at least.

Hazy Dayz Vodka Ice [4.0%, 275 ml] Many cute flavours including 'Cherry berry' and 'Hyper ice'.

Henry's Hard Lemonade A US alcoholic lemonade.

Hex [5.5%, 275 ml] 'Pernod, sparkling blackcurrant juice and a squeeze of lime': 'an EXCELLENT drink, not sure if it's still around, but a little pointless as it does just taste like Pernod & Black'. [PMS]

Hooch see Vodka Hooch

Hooper's Ginger Brew [4.7%]

Hooper's Hooch see Vodka Hooch

Imperial Czar Vodka Ice [5.5%] In blueberry, 'iron brew', orange or plain 'ice'. Also sold in 700 ml bottles.

Jamaican Rum Cooler [4.0%, 275 ml] Entirely generic orange mix with too strong a reminder of orange squash. Also comes in blackcurrant, pineapple and tropical flavours.

Jammin [5.5%, 330 ml] Banana and mango, intriguingly enough. Renamed from Tilt after the manufacturers of Lilt suggested legal action to protect their name. A bottle from 1996, its bright pattern plastic-moulded onto the glass, is in the collection of London's Design Museum. (A correspondent informs me that other variants were 'Space Doubt', 'Mellow Yellow', 'Peach Paradise', 'Perfect Pear', pineapple & coconut and the delicious-sounding black cherry & rum.)

Java [4.0%, 275 ml] (Discontinued in March 2004.) Citrus and tropical flavours along with 'ice', 'purple' and 'sunfruit'. The label identifies it as belonging to a range of 'Different World Drinks', so it must be Java the island and not the programming language. Around 60 calories per 100 ml according to Coors' website.

J&B Mack [5.5%, 275 ml] Scotch whisky, citrus and 'herbs' (presumably not 'the herb'). Withdrawn from sale in Greece, which is where I spotted it.

J&B Twist [5.6%, 275 ml] On sale in Spain, possibly to be introduced to the UK in 2002.

Jed's Hard Raspberry Oo-er missus.

Jello Shot [42 g] Vodka jellies in pots. Available in blueberry, lime, raspberry and, er, woodruff (Waldmeister).

JG Ice [5.4%, 275 ml] Vodka with iron brew or lemon.

JopaLume Rum with coconut and orange flavours.

Jordan V-10 [5.4%, 275 ml] Jordan as in Grand Prix, not as in breakfast cereal. The brand already includes an energy drink called EJ-10, and this has vodka & lime on top. Comes in fluorescent packaging to show up in clubs. Smart.

K2 A replacement for Drifter, in 'blue', 'ice', 'iron brew' and some normal flavours, viz. orange and watermelon. Not the same as Katu.

K Ice [5.5%, 275 ml] Available in cranberry, lemon and blueberry, this comes from Matthew Clark and is a curious extension of their K brand, previously cider. The blueberry version is 'quite cloudy, more like a lemon vodka ice drink in that respect than a generic "blue" alcopop) which is more blueberry than some "blue" approximation' [SA].
K Vodka Ice official site

Katu [4.0%, 375 ml?] Alcoholic lemonade, not the same as K2.

Kemptons [5.4%] 'Cold filtered schnapps'.

KGB [5.0%, 330 ml] Vodka and carbonated lemon. One of many Russian-themed lemonade alcopops, this was launched in Australasia as far back as 1997. It's apparently now available on other continents, but I've yet to see its 'stylish white-sleeved bottle' in the UK.

Kommissar Ice [4.0% (was 5.4%)] Available in lemon, lime, iron brew and strawberry daiquiri, and indeed in 70 cl bottles [PB]. Kommissar Cool Ice offers blue raspberry, cola & lemon, lemon, orange or strawberry & passion fruit variants on a 'made wine' base. Not sure if this is a replacement.

K:os [5.4%, 275 ml] 'Chaos', I suppose, or taurine-and-caffeine-enhanced tequila or vodka.

Kristov Vodka Cruiser see Vodka Cruiser

Kulov Ice [275 ml] Vodka base with lemon flavour, and now Kulov Ice Lite with only 130 calories per bottle (the original has 240 according to this here press release).

Lava Orange and citrus flavours (mixing 'tastes like fruit pastilles' says my informant).

Lemon Lips [5.0%] Part of the same brand as Cola Lips.

Lemonhead [4.9%]

Limonice [12%] Lemon and vodka at apparently astonishing strength.

Lovebyte [5.5%, 200ml] Small bottle of 'fruit wine cocktail' mixing blood orange and passion fruit for a deep red colour. I found it as part of BhS' Top Totty Tipples collection.

L'ush Velvet Club Mix (sic) [5.1%, 275 ml] 'Creamed vodka' with strawberry or vanilla.
L'ush official site

Mac'n'Ernie's Alco Cola [4.0%] Alcoholic cola.

Mahita Refresher [5.4%, 275 ml] Rum-based alcopop.

Malibu Spice [275 ml]

Marks and Spencer Vodka N.Ice [5.0%, 275 ml] Clear and carbonated, this comes in black cherry, cranberry, orange & passion fruit & lime or pineapple & grapefruit. Opaque and still, the choice is between apple & kiwi or raspberry & guava. The ingredients are printed on the bottle, for which all credit to M&S.

Marks and Spencer Rum Coolers [5.0%, 330 ml] Four versions: fruits of the forest, grapefruit & cranberry, lemon & lime and tropical. The grapefruit & cranberry is as tangy as you would expect, and only slightly fizzy. It's now apparent their Christmas 2000 introduction signalled a new acceptability for alcopops.

Maromba Rum with orange and mango.

Martini Blade see Blade

Martini Metz see Metz

Martini Spirito [5.4%, 275 ml] This is rather good, in both cranberry and peach. Cranberry is Martini Extra Dry with vodka and unspecified 'wine'; it's similar to fizzy Ribena. Peach is Martini Rosso with vodka.

Martini V2 see V2

Maverick Tequilapop available as Maverick Ice (lemon), code red (watermelon), code orange (orange & grenadine) and code green (lime).

Memphis Mist [4.9%] Bourbon-based. Can this be true?

Metz [5.0% (was 5.4%), 275 ml] A schnapps drink that tastes like fizzy alcoholic water: the cruel have noted the resemblance between 'Metz' and 'meths', but you might have more trouble from bar staff thinking you've ordered Beck's. Standard Metz is sold in Holland as Metz Ice, which may be a different drink in the UK. Also Metz Storm [5.6%] with caffeine and guarana.
Unlike most alcopops, it was difficult to see how this could be diversified into a range of garish colours and sickly flavours. Summer 2000 saw the introduction of Black Metz, riding on the black vodka bandwagon. Tasting was complicated by the visual resemblance to Coke and concentrated Ribena, but it was finally determined that Black Metz is the alcoholic equivalent of Vimto. At the same time, Still Metz was launched in deep blue packaging; despite the 'subtle hint of citrus' it has to rate as one of the most pointless drinks reviewed.
Towards the end of 2001 Martini relaunched Metz in mildly different packaging and increased the lemon flavouring, successfully.

Mezzanine [5.0%, 300 ml] Sadly nothing to do with my favourite Nicholson Baker novel, this is an Australian product claiming to be 'the world's first alcoholic energy drink'. Gracious, in Britain that description wouldn't be allowed, but that hasn't stopped us producing alcopops with ridiculous herbal wossnames.
Anyway, the product sounds delicious, but the names sound like fragrances of air freshener: there's 'amber', which is vodka with mango and pineapple, 'haze', which is gin with lemon and raspberry, and 'cheri', which doesn't seem to exist yet but presumably tastes of small red berries.

Mike's Hard Lemonade [5.0%, 275 ml] Vodka and lemonade (also 'cranberry lemonade' and 'hard lemon ice tea'!), made in Canada and now sold in the UK. 'Tastes kinda like homemade lemonade with vodka': now homemade vodka would be something.
Mike's Hard Lemonade official site [US]

Mog Alcoholic lemonade.

Molotov Cocktail [5.5%, 330 ml] This was imported from Russia to Greece - it's really called МОЛОТОВ КОКТЕИЛЬ [Unicode Cyrillic]. Tested was a palatable mixture of vodka with grapefruit and tequila; there seem to be as many as fourteen flavours, including gin-based variants at 9.0% volume!
Molotov Cocktail official site

Moo [5.0%, 340 ml] An 'alcoholic dairy cooler', i.e. a milkshake, available in strawberry and banana flavours. Not surprisingly, renamed then withdrawn from sale, although it inspired Loughborough's Orange Tree and no doubt other bars to serve their own alcoholic milkshakes. 'Moo's original label showed a drunken cow in cartoon form. This was replaced with a flayed cowhide (almost like a tiger-skin rug) with "MOO" scorched into it.' [CRB] Obviously cattle branding is less attractive to underage drinkers than cartoons.

Moonshine [5.4%, 275 ml] Quite unlike the potent product of a mountain still, this is a very palatable cranberry or lemon alcopop. The cranberry version tastes like raspberry ice cream rather than having the tartness of cranberries. A hit, although it does turn your tongue purple. In lemonade it's also pretty good, though tasting only weakly alcoholic. New Moonshine Refresher extends the range to lime & mango, pleasantly sherbety.

Morgan's Spiced Gold [5.4%, 275 ml] Rum and fruit and spices and carbonated water. Tastes strangely like WKD.

Mrs McCoy's [4.0%] Alcoholic lemonade.

Mrs Pucker's [5.5%, 275 ml] (Mother Pucker, ha bloody ha.)

Mule see Smirnoff Mule

nt [5.5%, 275 ml] Virgin's latest attempt, an energy drink (taurine, caffeine, ginseng, vitamins) with vodka. Branded in three colours for easy club ordering: blue (mixed fruit), purple and green. Green means lemon; our taster found it similar to the crushing majority of alcolemonades, though perhaps slightly bitterer. Purple is the interesting combination of cranberry and grapefruit and tastes somewhere between Lilt and Vimto, with a definite caffeine undertone. Except caffeine is supposedly undetectable in fizzy drinks. The same branding is used for a non-alcoholic energy drink called dt.

Old Grog Sold as lemonade or cola.

Orange Rum Burst see Rum Burst

O.T.Tia James O'Brien writes: 'O.T.Tia was a mix of Tia Maria and peach flavoured fizzy water on sale around the summer of 1997 and withdrawn not long afterwards. It was utterly delicious, about 4.7% and sorely missed.'

Oz [5.5%, 260 ml] Ouzo. Yes, ouzo. From Greece. Traditionally real men drink their ouzo with water, but alternating, not mixing; diluting turns the spirit cloudy, but this seems not to have happened with this surprisingly palatable aniseed-and-lemonade mix. It's heartening the unstoppable force of alcopops accommodating local custom.

Pecada Tequila mixed with citrus flavours.

Pernod Hex see Hex

Piranha [4.3%] Alcoholic lemonade.

Poliakof(f) Ice Smirnoff clone seen in France.

Purple Passion

Q [6.0%, 330 ml] Vodka and orange or raspberry from the manufacturers of DNA. Obviously Australians demand more alcohol.

Qube as in ice qube.

RaV [4.0%, 275 ml] Rum/vodka base for blueberry, pineapple or melon.

Raw Passion Possibly renamed.

Raw Spirit [5.5%, 275 ml] The 'hi energy mix' is taurine, caffeine, creatine and vodka. Comes in a tin bottle. Glutinous, like Red Bull, but with an unaccountable aroma of raspberry. Not bad.

Red [5.0%] No indication of which fruit might be involved in this 'alcoholic fruit drink containing guarana and damiana', while the taste is bubblegum. The list of ingredients suggests that its powers as a pick-me-up in fact come from the caffeine. Surprisingly opaque. 64.2 calories per 100 ml according to Coors' website. See also Blue.

Red Raw [5.0%] Alcoholic ginger beer.

Red Russian [4.0%, 275 ml] Lemon or blue (not red) or loganberry with 'made wine'. The blue variant quite, quite sickly. In a good way, perhaps.
Intercontinental Brands official site [Flash foolishness]

Red Shot [4.0%, 275 ml] Curiously, this 'made wine' base comes in blue, lime and orange variants as well as a default lemon. Not to be confused with Red Square Hot Shot.

Red Square [5.1% (was 5.5%), 275 ml] Red Square vodka in a bewildering variety of combinations: lemon, cranberry, Irn-Bru (orange!), 'reloaded' (ginseng), reloaded with tequila, and reloaded with Irn-Bru (caffeine and taurine as well as ginseng). Note that that's an official tie-in with official Irn-Bru with none of this passing off as 'iron brew'. (Not the first: a mixture of Irn-Bru and Bell's whisky was marketed as such for about a year.) In 2002 this range was rebranded: blueberry is simply 'blue', cranberry 'red', lemon 'white', mandarin 'orange' and the new loganberry 'purple' and wolfberry 'black'. Phew! [Thanks to PB for clarification.] New flavour Mexican lime is 'green'. Confused?
'Smells like Cadbury's Dairy Milk, tastes like strawberry bootlaces, makes you dance all night.' [ARD] The cranberry version doubly so. In spite of this, the manufacturers may no longer describe it as 'energising', saying instead 'reloaded' (these have opaque bottles where other versions are clear). Also available in 75 cl bottles, plastic bottles for (night)clubbing and, with the same branding, as a non-alcoholic energy drink called Red Alert.
Red Square Hot Shot provides 14 shots in a 350 ml bottle (you do the math, not that you could by the end). 'Tastes, as you'd expect, like a badly-judged vodka Red Bull' [SA].
Red Square official site

Red Star Vodka Ice [4.0%, 275 ml] Originally the bottle said 'V* Ice' on the neck and 'Vodka Ice' below, but obviously the asterisk was insufficiently clear branding and it now states explicitly 'Red Star Vodka Ice'. Available in lemon and watermelon, no doubt after extensive market testing revealed these to be standard flavours of successful alcopops (both commercially and in terms of taste), and also lime, which is a generally unpopular flavour, and a 'Mega-Mix' version with taurine ('tastes, somewhat predictably, like Red Square' [SA]). The lemon version is like a sharper Smirnoff Ice; the watermelon like a very watery Bacardi Breezer, though with a delightful smell of sherbet; and the lime, like limeade. Also 'blue', 'iron brew', cola and 70 cl and even 1.5 litre variants.
Intercontinental Brands official site [Flash foolishness]

Red Star Vodka Smoothie see Vodka Smoothie

Reef [5.0%, 275 ml] Vodka mixed with 'still orange & passion fruit drink' (note that 'drink' pointedly doesn't mean juice). The original version was delivered in squat glass bottles with ring-pull tops, and tasted as unstimulating as economy orange squash. It was relaunched in a standard-size bottle with a ribbed neck for extra pleasure, and the orange flavour joined by new 'pineapple.vodka.citrus' (4% pineapple, 8% grapefruit and 28% orange juice, in a welcome admission of ingredients). This latter tastes like vodka and orange made with Five Alive and is a vast improvement. It's still deceptively alcoholic, being still. Between 65 and 80 calories per 100 ml (i.e. quite a few) according to Coors' website.
The summer of 2001 saw a third flavour introduced: mango and apple (with orange juice to taste, as above). This is also a success, and even tastes healthy. There is evidence that the three flavours are called 'easy', 'exotic' and 'smooth', not respectively.
2002 saw further expansion with red berry & kiwi (actually a mix of strawberry, raspberry, kiwi, papaya, apple with orange for bulk), a similarly successful taste, lemon & lime and blackcurrant & citrus. Now, in 2003, pear & grape has arrived: sea-blue with a taste of bubblegum. Confusingly, the brand manager says 'We have taken a decision to never have more than five flavours in the Reef range'.

Reshnoff Imperial Vodka Ice [5.4%, 275 ml] Lemonade and vodka, again, pleasantly tart.

Rick's Spiked Lemonade A US alcoholic lemonade.

Rigo see Bacardi Rigo

Rocket Fuel [5.5%] Vodka based alcopop.
Rocket Fuel official site

Roxxoff [5.4%, 275 ml] Vodka and passion fruit with 'a natural blend of herbal aphrodisiacs' (!) As if the name wasn't sufficient as a pickup line.
Roxxoff official site [Flash foolishness]

Royal Czar [5.5%, 275 ml] 'Black label vodka ice', that is, alcoholic lemonade like Smirnoff Ice. Also available as alcoholic orangeade.

Rum Burst [5.4%, 275 ml] So far only spotted as Orange Rum Burst, but supermarket cartons read "Fruit Rum Burst" so let's hope it's generic. A potent and fruity mix from Aldi, one of the new breed of ultra-cheap chainstores.

Sainsbury's Alcoholic Lemon Drink Withdrawn.

Salitos Ice [5.2%] Lemon & lime.
Salitos Ice official site

Savanna [4.0%, 275 ml] From ICB, makers of Strobe, whose site claims it's been around since 1995. Schnapps with apple, lime, orange, peach, raspberry, strawberry or 'ice blue'. The strawberry version is clear, not pink, and has a headier fragrance than flavour.
Intercontinental Brands official site [Flash foolishness]

Schnapper [5.4%, 275 ml] Cider with peach 'flavour' schnapps, but you'd be hard pressed to detect the schnapps in a drink that looks and tastes like cider. Diamond White is cheaper and more effective.

Screaming Passion [5.0%, 275 ml] Kava kava. It's red and tastes like an orangey energy drink. I found it as part of BhS' Top Totty Tipples collection.

Sebor Wildemule [5.4%, 275 ml] Absinthe, allegedly!

Serkova X99 Discontinued pepper vodka alcopop from Allied Domecq Greece.

Shag [4.0%, 275 ml] That's an acronym for 'Spirit, Hop And Grape'. The bottle features the common cormorant. Tested in lime, which tastes like a melted freeze-pop (which is a good thing). Spotted in as many as six variants.
Shag official site

Shakers Schnapps [5.5%, 275 ml] Cranberry, lemon, orange, peach and 'blue'.
Shakers Schnapps official site

Shakers Smoovie [5.5%, 275 ml] Alcohol and fruit juices - with milk. Yes, it's the first true vodka smoothie, or the return of the late lamented Moo under another name. Available in orange & strawberry or blackcurrant & raspberry, both with vodka, and 'tropical' with rum. The orange & strawberry variety, at least, is truly scrumptious, being opaque pink and syrupy. Put it in a baby's bottle as a surefire pacifier.

Shark Bite [4.0%] Cola or lemonade.

Shotts [5.3%, 330 ml] Available in cranberry ('charge'), lemon ('lemonade jag'), tangerine ('scream' as in Tangerine Dream) and vanilla ('heist', echoing the deplorable Vanilla Ice and anticipating the deplorable popularity of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels).

Sierra Slammer [4.0%, 275 ml] The first tequilapop, available in 'citrus' and 'tropic'. Surprisingly pleasant and unsickly, perhaps because of its low alcohol content. Margarita too.

Sinn Cooler [8.0%, 330 ml] Apparently uncommonly strong alcopop sold in India. Available in blackcurrant, lemon & lime, orange, peach and strawberry flavours.

Sinnamon Cider

Skinny Pucker [4.0%] Low calorie version of Mrs Pucker's alcoholic cola.

Skyy Blue An American malternative introduced for 2002.

Slamba [5.5%, 250 ml] 'A tequila and lemon mix from Scottish Courage, launched in the on-trade at the end of the 2000 summer and in the off-trade January 2001' [PB] in a clear plastic bottle. Withdrawn in 2002, allegedly because it tasted awful.

Slamma [5.0%, 330 ml] A similar idea - tequila and lemon from the Australian makers of DNA.

Slinky see Blue Nun Slinky

Smirnoff Baltik Australian.

Smirnoff Black Ice [5.0% (was 5.5%), 275 ml] A less sweet version of Smirnoff Ice produced so boys can drink it without feeling like girls, or as the press puff has it, 'an alternative to lager'. Now everyone can enjoy the alcopop revolution! The advertised 'crisp clear bite' is accurate in so far as it's transparent, not opaque like its big sister. Martini Metz and Gordon's Edge both offer more in the way of bite, but this won't stop its overwhelming success. Known as Smirnoff Ice Triple Black in the US.
[July 2004] Relaunched in an allegedly crisper version: 'it tastes a lot limier than it used to' [SA].
Review of Smirnoff Black Ice at Ciao [ARD]

Smirnoff Ice [5.0% (was 5.5%)] A vodka and 'lemon' drink that looks rather like the cloudy water that comes out of my tap yet tastes just like 'traditional-style lemonade' left to ferment till potent. A great drink, and a commercial success that's made it a standard option. One nice touch is the asterisks on the packaging which echo the old indications for frozen food. So successful is this brand that plastic bottles with screw caps, Smirnoff Ice labels and 'Pierre Smirnoff' embossed below the neck have been manufactured specially for venues which ban glass - and in Ireland you can apparently get it on draught... Also available in large-appetite 700 ml bottles.
The Smirnoff Ice sold in the US is a malternative, not a vodka base, but Canadians get the real stuff [SA].
Smirnoff Ice official site

Smirnoff Mule [5.5%, 275 ml] Vodka, ginger and lime in a golden-brown bottle. The colour of ginger ale yet with a less harsh (actually rather nice) taste.

Smoovie see Shakers Smoovie

Soccer Ice [5.4%, 275 ml] Blueberry, watermelon, or lemon (a limited edition with St George's cross and David Beckham's number 7 shirt) aimed at Brits in the Med. [PB]

Sorba [5.0%, 275 ml] An early brand of orange, mango, passion fruit and an unknown base, spotted as part of a display on the bevvy in Glasgow's People's Palace.

Sorted see VS Sorted

Source see Vodka Source

Soviet Vodka-based alcopop made by Wychwood [CRB].

Space [5.5%, 275 ml] Gordon's gin with lemon juice and ginseng, not to be confused with Ginzing (a discontinued Gordon's mixer), or is it? Found in Greece imported by our friends ΓΙΟΥΝΑΙΤΕΝΤ ΝΤΙΣΤΙΛΛΕΡΣ & ΒΙΝΤΝΕΡΣ ΕΛΛΑΣ (that is, United Distillers & Vintners).

Spankers Schnapps [4.0%, 275 ml] Apple, black cherry, mandarin and peach & passion fruit [PB].

Sparks [440 ml cans] Four flavours from New Zealand.

Spice see Malibu Spice and Strongbow Spice

Spirit [5.5%, 275 ml] An own brand alcopop from the Asda supermarket chain. A vodka base is flavoured with cranberry, lemon 'ice' or dandelion & burdock, or there's pineapple & grapefruit on rum. I first tested the dandelion & burdock as it was the only one in that flavour left in the store and I feared never seeing it again. It was nearly still (supposed to be sparkling) and had no appreciable alcoholic taste; on the plus side it was neither too sickly nor overflavoured. The cranberry version is a good deal better. Is this the first alcopop to boast 'gluten free' and 'suitable for vegetarians'?
[2004 update] Dandelion & burdock now joined by apple & guava and raspberry & vanilla.

Spirito see Martini Spirito

Sputnik Ice [5.5%, 275 ml] Yet another Smirnoff Ice ripoff, almost redeemed by the nice picture of Sputnik and the claim to be 'out of this world'.

Stinger [4.0% (was 5.0%), 275 ml (was 330 ml)] Subject to downsizing: dandelion & burdock, lemon, lime and 'ice' flavours were once just four of seven.

Strobe [5.5%, 275 ml] The product tested comes in an ordinary opaque white bottle and is a standard vodka 'energy mix' (with a taste, if anything, of raspberries); there are apparently five other colours presumably corresponding to flavours. A German site, however, provides evidence of vodka and orangeade sold under the same name in a wonderful lightbulb-shaped bottle (inverted, with the gold screw as the neck). Mystery.
Intercontinental Brands official site [Flash foolishness]

Strongbow Spice [5.3%, 275 ml] Yes, that's Strongbow cider (which has a similar alcohol content itself) mixed with cinnamon, juniper, and 'hot' ginger (as opposed to what?). Spotted in October 2001 and obviously aimed at the winter drinker, mulled wine being strangely unfashionable outside Alpha courses. I suspect Sinnamon Cider was a similar concept but I never tried it.

Stunn Available in lemon, orange, blackcurrant and cola.

Sublime [5.5%] A US alcopop available in Raspberry Lemonade, 'Tangeria' and straight Lemonade flavours. The obvious question is why not lime?

Sub Zero Alcoholic lemonade from Australia.

Super Milch [5.5%, 275 ml] Moo-alike, possibly renamed, this combined milk and strawberry or banana flavourings.

Tad Juicy [4.0%, 275 ml] A 'made wine' base with orange & passion fruit or red berry & kiwi fruit.

Tamova Vodka Twist [5.0%, 275 ml] Vodka lemonade as usual.

Tattoo Vodka and cranberry from New Zealand.

Tennessee Gold Jack Daniel's and ginger ale.

Thickhead 'A tangerine-flavoured drink with the consistency of jelly and the alcohol content of strong lager' (The Observer, 1996-11-08). Despite the alarm of the Portman Group, it reached the market only to be withdrawn hastily after a barrage of criticism.

Tilt see Jammin

TNT Liquid Dynamite

Tribe [5.4%, 275 ml] Rum with grenadine & orange, lemon & lime or orange, mandarin & passion fruit.

Twisted Ice Tea [5.0%, 275 ml] Blackcurrant, lemon or peach; from Sweden.

Twisted Tea see BoDean's Twisted Tea

Two Dogs [4.0%, 330 ml] Alcoholic lemonade, and as such a direct competitor to Hooch. Apparently genuinely Australian, it possibly predated Hooch there. It claims to be brewed, therefore qualifying as a proper drink rather than a mix of fruit juice and spirits. Also available in apple and orange.
Two Dogs official site

V-10 see Jordan V-10

V2 [5.0%, 275 ml] Vodka and Vermouth (Martini, indeed). Testers suspected a hint of cinnamon. Withdrawn by 2002.

Vault [4.9%] Alcoholic soda. 'Not to my taste, also probably no longer with us, but had rather fetching keytag style things round their necks'. [PMS] Now on sale in Australia.

Veba see Vladivar Veba

Venom

VHF

Vibe see Vodka Vibe

Vibez From New Zealand.

V Ice [4.0%] see VK

Virgin Flyer A mix of vodka and some Virgin energy drink. It's the brown of weak cola and tastes like ginger ale without the ginger.

Vive la Vie [4.0%, 275 ml] Vodka with cranberry & schizandra, grapefruit & green tea (!) or lemon & ginseng. Clear, in a clear bottle, but far fruitier than the 'hint of' flavour you'd expect from the packaging. A Tesco product.

Vixen

VK 'Vodka Kick' is available in apple, blackcurrant, 'iron brew', lime, orange, pineapple and watermelon flavours... and 'energy', renamed 'blue' to satisfy the Portman Group's demands for accuracy, which is another Red Square clone. There's V Ice, a Metz-alike with the VK glyph at the top of the bottle, also available in cranberry; and the still Vodka Kick Coast. 'The various flavours of VK are a lot nicer than the dismal packaging would suggest.' [SA] It is indeed powerful: blackcurrant (throat sweet) VK stains not just your tongue but any melamine surfaces. Ice and Blue variants can be bought in cans. VK Coast is a Reef-alike.
VK official site

Vladivar Veba [4.1%, 275 ml] This is 'sweet & sour cherry' with Vladivar vodka, a bright red. It does taste convincingly like cherryade, the first alcopop to have this flavour. Now in lurid green 'kiwi citrus' too [SA] - the label says 'sweet and sour'.

Vodka Buzz [4.0%, 275 ml] Dandelion & burdock or 'deep silver'.

Vodka Cruiser [5.0%] This 'Kristov' Vodka Cruiser comes in a truly astonishing 17 flavours: blueberry, cranberry, grapefruit, guava, lemon, lime, mango, melon, mulberry, orange, passion fruit, peach, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry, watermelon and (er...) diet bitter lemon. Which are available depends on which territory you're drinking in.
Vodka Cruiser site [Flash foolishness]

Vodka Hooch [4.7%-5.1%, 330 ml] The first, or at least the most notorious, alcopop to be launched in the UK, in 1995. Hooper's Hooch was renamed Vodka Hooch in 2000 and the green bottles replaced with clear glass, possibly feeling the success of Bacardi Breezers. It's apparently been tested on draught in student unions.
The default flavour is lemon [4.7%] and other standard flavours are orange [5.1%] and apple. Blackcurrant [5.1%] appears no longer to be available, which is a shame, while grapefruit was also rather nice but replaced in March 2000 with tropical Vodka Hooch [5.0%]. Tropical Hooch comprises orange juice, passion fruit and undisclosed other flavourings, and is the first alcopop this compiler has found unpalatable: like cheap squash that's far too concentrated. Apparently it was perpetrated after 'consumer demand'. Viewers at certain times may have encountered Smooch (for St Valentine's Day), Hoo La La [5.0%] ('Mediterranean fruits' for the summer of 1998) and Ho Ho (cranberry for Christmas). Most bizarre of all is Hooch Light [4.7%]: not, as you might guess, a non-alcoholic alcoholic lemonade, but Hooch with half the 245 calories of the standard bottle.
Production ceased in November 2003.

Vodka Ice See Imperial Czar, Kommissar Ice, Red Star Vodka Ice, Reshnoff Imperial, V Ice or even Smirnoff Ice.

Vodka Kick see VK

Vodka Kick Coast Still variant of VK in apple & tango (!), orange & passionfruit and strawberry & vanilla.

Vodka Mudshake [4.0%, 200 ml] Alcomilk in caramel, chocolate, coffee, strawberry ('fraise') or vanilla. Mighty fine, mighty irresponsible. November 2004 saw an extension of the range to include honeycomb and 'de menthe'.

Vodka Smoothie [5.5%, 275 ml] Available in cranberry & apple, banana & strawberry, and lemon. Don't be misled by 'smoothie', which in this instance just means 'still', something of a shock. The cranapple had the right flavour, and looked like the green liquids used as shorthand for mad scientists, but was otherwise sickly and uninspiring.

Vodka Source [5.3%, 275 ml] Vodka with lemon & lime, orange & cassis (or blackcurrant as we call it in English), spiced apple and blackcurrant & pear (originally a limited edition). This range was complemented in 2000 by passion fruit & kiwi (thin and watery) and in 2001 by 'bramble' (a good stab at what are otherwise called 'summer fruits'). In general Source tastes like those ever-so-sophisticated, ever-so-slightly-flavoured fizzy drinks with 'blush' in their names; orange & cassis has a hint of pink and the flavour of weak squash, though it's nicer than Perrier, while spiced apple is like a spicy, alcoholic Appletise. The clever packaging has a design you can see through the clear glass and the clear drink. The not-so-clever adverts have malicious Swedish women.

Vodka Vibe [4.0%, 275 ml] Sicklier than your average, which suits the artificiality of alcopops. Spotted in a newsagent's clearance in apple, cranberry, grapefruit, iron brew, lemon cola and XS (caffeine, guarana, taurine, strangely brown). Yet the website advertises a different set of six: apple, blueberry, cranberry, lemon 'ice', orange and 'energy' as above.
Vodka Vibe official site

Völsk Says the Whitbread site: 'vodka based mixer with the mysterious Koolberry ingredient, presented in a unique aluminium bottle'.

VR [5.4%, 275 ml] Once this stood for 'vodka revitaliser' (also a nickname for the supremely popular combination of vodka and Red Bull), but now that alcoholic drinks may no longer be marketed as 'enhancing mental or physical capabilities' it stands for 'vodka reaction'. Vladivar vodka with hits of taurine and caffeine, the latter contributing a lot to the taste.

VS Sorted [4.0%, 275 ml] Originally vodka [zade|teaser|iron brew], imitating three well-known soft drinks we can't name here but which might be spelt Lucas-aid, Tyser and, er, Iron Brew. Now 'made wine' instead of vodka for tax reasons. The Teaser variant is red, frothy, and has no appreciable taste of alcohol. Previously just called Sorted. '70 cl bottles sold in Iceland - the company not the country' [PB]. 'Blue' is now available, either an addition or a replacement.

Wee Beastie [5.4%, 275 ml] Vodka with taurine and caffeine: 'floats like a butterfly, stings like a beastie'. A pleasant stimulant that tastes like Lucozade, only nice. Especial kudos to them for giving a full breakdown of ingredients and nutritional information (vodka 13.4%, 1218 kJ, no protein, no fat) and the perhaps self-evident alert 'Not suitable for diabetics and persons sensitive to caffeine'.
Also available in 700 ml along with a lemon variant.

Wild Brew [4.0%, 275 ml] This may be two brands conflated, but the volume and a.b.v. have remained the same so I suspect it's simply been rebranded. Originally something with guarana, it's now in a bottle entirely covered in tiger stripes and mixes vodka, cranberry and caffeine in a rather lovely (and pink) combination. Lemon & lime variant launched in 2002 [PB].

WKD [5.3%-5.5%, 275 ml] Irn-Bru, sorry, untrademarked 'iron brew' with vodka [5.3%]. An aroma of bubblegum and incredibly sweet, or 'foully medicinal' as I had it here previously; but what did you expect? WKD Red was withdrawn, while you may have to make a trip to Germany or Spain to get hold of the white WKD Vodka Ice and the clear WKD Custom Energy [both 5.5%]. WKD Blue (well, turquoise) is more successful. Shame about the crass marketing, though maybe it's necessary for WKD Silver, apparently aimed at lager drinkers but in reality inoffensive. WKD Shot -- 40% abv -- has been sighted in its orange and blue species [SA].
I am informed that standard WKD has 70 calories per 100 ml while Blue has 83 and Silver has 81 - multiply up for the hit per bottle.
WKD official site

Woodstock [5.0%, 275 ml] 'Genuine Kentucky bourbon and cola' that tastes authentically rough and caffeinated. Comes with a handy twist off cap if your teeth aren't up to it.

Woody's Vodka Refreshers [4.0%, 275 ml] Originally we had Woody's [4.7%-5.3%, 330 ml], in six alarming flavours (pink grapefruit, Mexican lime, strawberry & lemon, blood orange, kiwi lemon and summer peach). Then lemon 'ice' drinks swept the market and along came Woody's Ice [5.5%, 275 ml] mixing Vladivar vodka with blueberry (tinged blue like Bacardi Rigo and tasting as one would imagine blueberry flavouring would taste. Which is a good thing), cranberry, orange and grapefruit. These two are no longer available in the UK, their place taken by Woody's Vodka Refreshers, selecting the best four flavours from the above range: Mexican lime, pink grapefruit, strawberry & lemon and blueberry ice, and now the disappointingly quotidian orange & lemon.

XLR8 Guarana and something else, from Australia.

XS Tequila Sunrise [4.0%, 275 ml] Embarrassingly weak for tequila, you might think, and it is sadly reminiscent of orange squash.

Yellow Fever [275 ml] Vodka and lemon, possibly.

Z [5.0%, 275 ml] Zebra-print bottle, containing a mixture of orange, vodka and guarana. Despite the orange flavouring, it definitely looked red when poured into a clear glass; it almost had the sherbet taste of orange-and-cranberry-juice mixes.

Zanzebi Sling [5.0%] Alcoholic lemonade. The green bottle was apparently designed to luminesce under UV light (as in clubs); tonic water does this because of the quinine it contains.

Ziing [5.0%, 330 ml] No doubt using some painful orthographic gimmick, this is raspberry, soda and something alcoholic from Australia.

Zima An American malternative - alcoholic spring water?

Zólensky Ice [5.0%, 330 ml] Allegedly 'Ruski Limon Vodka', actually Polish Hoochalike. Tastes of sherbet lemons. [ARD] Differentiated from yer average alcopop by its screw top. 'Tastes a little bitter; the lemon flavour is certainly a lot stronger than, say, Smirnoff Ice', although it's given in and added 'ice' to its name.

owen@massey.net