Smirnoff Cider – ideal drink for barbecues

If you’re looking for something to drink when you next have a barbecue, this might be just the thing!

Smirnoff (the famous vodka company) is now producing a great range of ciders. The latest is flavoured with mandarin and pink grapefruit, with a dash of vodka. Smirnoff also has Passionfruit and lime flavoured cider and a rather unusual Raspberry and Pomegranate.

They’re not exactly subtle, but they’re cool and sweet and my kids – straight back from university – loved them. My favourite was the Mandarin and Pink Grapefruit, which had a lovely sharpness and a really fresh fruit flavour. My son went for the passionfruit and lime, which absolutely burst with scents of tropical fruit.

Perhaps not the sort of thing to have with steak or even chops, but they’d go down well with burgers and ketchup or with those oriental chicken wings in sweet chilli sauce that everyone seems to serve, or with pizzas for that matter. And they’re not expensive – the big supermarkets sell them for around £2.19 for a 500ml bottle.