FREE DESIGNER BAG WITH NEW BELVEDERE IX AT WWW.DRINKON.COM

Snap up your FREE designer bag with Belvedere IX, a luxury spirit from Belvedere Vodka that blends 9 natural, individually distilled ingredients with Belvedere Vodka to create a new and unique taste. We are giving away a FREE JONATHAN KELSEY BAG with every vodka in the Belvedere range, while stocks last! Belvedere IX represents a breakthrough in vodka innovation in the sense that it uses a similar methodology to that of gin. Its higher strength (50% abv) allows for the ingredients and botanical to be held at a specific concentration, which makes the flavours more pronounced. The bottle design is funky, having been created by graffiti artist Andre Saraiva, and the drink can be enjoyed frozen and neat, in longs drinks with mixers such as grapefruit juice or tonic and it can also be mixed with Coke or Red, without losing the aromatic quality of the vodka. View Belvedere Vodka

Still on the trail of the unusual this week, we’re showcasing Fernet Branca, iconic Italian bitters that’s been made to a secret family recipe since 1845. The drink contains 27 herbs from around the world, including saffron, gentian root, camomile and myrrh and is matured in oak barrels for 12 months. It is complex and intense, with rich notes of bitterness and a delicately spicy finish. Although Fernet Branca is generally enjoyed as a digestif, served at room temperature, it can also be mixed really effectively in cocktails, particulary this one, which is pretty damn good:

DR ZEUS

1 shot Fernet Branca

20 raisins2 shots cognac

¼ shot Gomme syrup

1/8 shot Kahlua coffee liqueur

1 dash Fee Brothers Orange Bitters

Method: Pour Fernet Branca into an ice-filled Old-fashioned glass (short tumbler). Top with chilled mineral water and leave to stand. Separately muddle raisins in the base of a shaker, add other ingredients and shake with ice. Discard the contents of the glass and strain the contents of the shaker into the Fernet Branca coated glass. (from Diffordsguide to Cocktails #7)