You cannot have a conversation about alcohol in Kenya without mentioning Smirnoff. It’s one of the most recognizable brands in the market. With products like Smirnoff Red and Black Ice and the recently introduced Smirnoff Double Black with Guarana, it’s not hard to see why. They’ve gone a step further in conquering the market by launching Smirnoff Ice Electric Ginseng, with Kenya being the first country to have the product in the market.

When I heard about the launch of Electric Ginseng, I was curious. Mostly because I was trying to figure out what Ginseng means. Turns out it’s the name of any of 11 species of plants found in North America and East Asia and apparently used for medicinal purposes in countries like China and Korea. Needless to say, I was even more interested to try out the drink.

The marketing I had seen seemed to have young men as the target and after a little research, I found that that was indeed the case. The drink is an attempt to draw in young men into the Smirnoff RTD (Ready to Drink) consumers fold as the other drinks are mostly targeted and consumed by women.

I spent over a month looking for this drink. It was not available at any of the major supermarkets I checked (though this may be more to do with the supermarkets than Smirnoff) and was also not available at any of my locals. I ended up finally finding it at the Oil Libya convenience store on Ngong road.

Design

Apparently, there’s a bottle but I haven’t had the chance to see it. What I have been able to interact with is the can. It’s smilar to Guarana except it has a red, white, black and sky blue colour scheme that is pretty vibrant. The can is a standard 330ml can.

Price

Ginseng retails at 140 which is pretty standard for a RTD product.

Taste

I was half expecting it to taste like Guarana, which I’m not a fan of as it has this cough syrup aftertaste, but it doesn’t. Ginseng tastes more like soda (ingredients include soda, Ginseng and spirit) with a fruity flavour and has less sugar than Guarana. I had two cans and I could have had more as it’s quite a yummy drink.

Verdict

It’s a fun drink with its blue colour and would look good in a cocktail glass. I’m not sure I would order it at a more ‘serious’ night out though as the drink colours your tongue blue, which is a little ridiculous. Still, I love the taste and can see myself drinking it at home and at parties.

mwendeLifestyleReviewsKenya,Ready to Drink,Smirnoff
You cannot have a conversation about alcohol in Kenya without mentioning Smirnoff. It's one of the most recognizable brands in the market. With products like Smirnoff Red and Black Ice and the recently introduced Smirnoff Double Black with Guarana, it's not hard to see why. They've gone a step...