Business Notes LIQUOR ADVERTISING

For vodka sippers who like to think they can discern the differences among brands, the ad slogan for Smirnoff might be an attractive come-on: "So superior you can taste it." But the $10 million campaign has not gone down so smoothly with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Last week the agency said the slogan does not conform to rules that prohibit distillers from claiming special qualities for spirits they sell as vodka. The agency defines vodka as "without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color."

Heublein, which manufactures Smirnoff in Connecticut, hopes to persuade the Government that its slogan is within the law. The Smirnoff brand remains the best-selling vodka in the U.S. market, but it faces growing competition from such trendy brands as Sweden's Absolut and the Soviet Union's Stolichnaya.