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Costco was forced to offer refunds on its store-brand vodka after a flurry of complaints that the booze “tasted like lighter fluid.”
The membership-only warehouse club’s Kirkland Signature American Vodka, which is priced at $16.99 for a 1.75-liter bottle, has a cult-like following among shoppers.
However, those that bought the vodka in recent months began complaining on Reddit about a funky taste — with one user likening it to “a bathroom urinal puke vibe.”
“I noticed that too, tasted like lighter fluid,” another chimed in.
“The last bottle I got tasted horrible like contaminated with plastic or something, I couldn’t even drink it,” a fellow Kirkland Signature American Vodka drinker wrote.
Meanwhile, users in a separate subreddit dedicated entirely to the retailer’s selection of spirits — called r/Costco_alcohol — also noticed the off-putting flavor.
“Noticed right away a weird vitamin taste or like a peanut-like aftertaste,” one user said.
Another called the vodka “vomitrocious,” which the commenter defined as “causing a desire to vomit; disgusting or gross,” adding that they usually opt for Costco’s French vodka, which sells for $24.99 a bottle.
“We thought it was our lime, then like you took out the mixer and realized it was the vodka. Also has a smell! We dumped the whole bottle!” another exclaimed.
Following the slew of negative reviews, Costco issued a product information notice to its members, informing them that a batch of the vodka sold between June 12 and Aug. 10 “does not meet our quality expectations.”
“It has come to our attention that the taste profile of units marked with certain lot codes may not have met the expected profile normally consistent with this product,” the Washington-based company said, notifying customers that they could return their vodka “for a full refund.”
When The Post reached out to Costco for comment, a spokesperson provided the same comments that were made in the wholesaler’s email notice.
Costco also assured shoppers that the tainted batch was “not a food safety issue.”
Redditers, however, did their own sleuthing, with many sharing that they heard from store clerks that the vodka was transported in containers that previously held rum and weren’t properly cleaned before switching to vodka.
One user who reportedly works at Costco’s regional office shared: “Apparently it has hints of rum due to a container not being completely cleaned before it was used for vodka during transport. It has no health risks or implications, but it gave the vodka notes of rum! Hope this helps explain why it tastes off.”
“It has come to our attention that the taste profile of units marked with certain lot codes may not have met the expected profile normally consistent with this product. While not a food safety issue, this does not meet our quality expectations. All of the specific lot codes are not in the market,” the spokesperson said.
Representatives Levecke Corporation, the producer of Kirkland Signature American Vodka, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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