Cocktail Hour: Chase Marmalade Vodka

Recently, Chase Marmalade Vodka was on sale in Waitrose and I didn't buy any. I'm still kicking myself. This isn't a cheap vodka - it's usually around £30 a bottle. But it's also one of the best vodkas you'll ever try. Initially they only made 1000 bottles but it proved so popular that it's now a permanent addition to the Chase Distillery range. Well done, everyone.

It's no secret that I'm not a straight up martini fan. Hate them. They're a bit like drinking paint stripper and, seriously, an olive does not a mixer make. But make me a marmalade martini, with a little bit of Cointreau and suddenly I'm all for them.

Fruit-based 'martinis' look delightful, but they're so often too sweet and syrupy (French martini, I'm looking at you), but Chase Marmalade isn't. It's not a syrup, it's still vodka and it's still distilled so you get a smooth finish. After being marinated in Seville Orange marmalade, the fourth time it's distilled, the vapours pass through fresh orange peel. That's the kind of magic that makes this vodka so special. It's still clear, and it's most certainly still vodka.

It's a fabulous vodka and even at £31 a bottle in Waitrose at the moment, I'm really tempted. You probably won't want to drink this in place of a standard vodka, and if you mix it with coke I might have to hunt you down and kill you, but you should definitely have a bottle in your kitchen. It's very special indeed.