Nipernaadi was a popular novel and road movie in Estonia at the 80’s and gave the name to this cranberry vodka. It’s made by Lithuanian alcohol company Stumbras, from the order of Estonian alcohol wholesaler Global Wine House. It’s made by rectified spirit, cherry juice and a slight amount of sugar. A 50cl bottle costs about 9€ in Estonia.

The aroma has sweet cherry and a hint of almond. The taste is, as you might expect, cherryish and lightly sweet. Alcohol burns quite heavily, I assume the rectified spirits used in the drink is nothing of the highest quality. The aroma of the cherry is superficial and slightly essential, clearly the drink is made by mixing juice and spirits. The bite of ethanol quickly begins to irritate and leaves a cheap mark on the product. It is clearly done quickly and cheaply, as the selling price in stores already shows. Diluted with water, the cherry aroma gets more space and the drink is clearly more balanced. It is therefore more suitable as an ingredient in cocktails, as the manufacturer itself offers in the product brochure.

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