SOMERSET CIDER BRANDY POMONA 50CL 20%

The most extraordinary alcoholic drink ever? A strong contender, Pomona, created by Somerset apple alchemist Julian Temperley blends sweet, unfermented apple juices with his own aged cider brandy. Its a vivid russet-brown colour and smells eerie, haunting and full of strange beauty, reminding me not so much of apples as crushed seeds and gentian root.

(Francophiles: think Suze.) In the mouth, its sweet, strong and subtly fruity, full of latent apple perfume and the fire of Temperleys two antique stills, Josephine and Fifi. Temperley himself compares it to port (tawny not vintage, of course) and recommends you serve it with cheese