Now that’s an Effen good cocktail!

Design and functionality merged June 23 during Effen vodka’s intimate gathering at Vdara. The premium Holland vodka garners its name from the Dutch word for “smooth,” though the spirit’s patented rubber sleeve kept the bottle from slipping out of mixologists’ hands while doubling as an insulator.

Of the four cocktails highlighted, Manuel Lopez’s City Sparkler was a refreshing favorite. Four muddled raspberries were combined in a shaker glass with half an ounce of fresh lemon juice, a quarter of an ounce of pineapple juice and a quarter of an ounce of rock candy simple syrup. One and a half ounces of Effen vodka and ice then are added, shaken and strained into a champagne flute. The City Sparkler is topped off with Brut champagne and garnished with lemon zest.