Product find: Effen Black Cherry Vanilla Vodka

This luxe drop, distilled in and imported from The Netherlands, recently fell into my basket. (Well, maybe I helped it a little). What a treat. In Dutch, the adjective ‘effen’ means ‘smooth, even, balanced’. How true. A wheat distilled spirit, it’s as smooth as silk with distinct deep cherry notes and a slight syrupy sweetness from the vanilla that lifts it above the average bland vodka taste, or indeed that of many flavoured vodkas, most of which I don’t’ really like because of their flamethrower aftertaste. It comes in a chic black neoprene sleeve to stop slippage when the bottle’s cold, and to insulate it when out of the fridge or freezer. Practical, as well as drop dead attractive, creating a stand-out shelf look. There’s heaps of recipes for cocktails on the Effen website, but to me just a plain nip over ice was enough to impress. Ok, 2 nips.

Just be careful when asking your local bottle-o for it. “Can I have some Effen vodka?” (say it out loud) doesn’t really come out as intended, nor does “do you sell Effen vodka here?”. Sales staff will be immediately antagonistic no matter what your intonation. I carefully phrased my request as “do you stock a brand of Dutch vodka named ‘Effen’?”, to which my hitherto polite assistant said “Effen Vodka! – is this some kind of joke?”. A tricky one in the vernacular, but worth pursuing for the taste. And if you wake up with an over indulgence headache, you guessed it, blame the Effen vodka.

AUD$49.99 for 700mls at Liquorland and Vintage Cellars.