The boy and his poison: The Berlioni

Cynar is a contrary mistress. Falling very much in to the 'Marmite' category of bitter liqueurs, on first sip you'll either be in love or wondering how such an innocuous looking tipple could do that to your mouth. I first found it lurking on the back shelf of a bar last year at 'that' point in the evening when trying something obscure seems like the best idea in the world, incidentally if ever you're out drinking with me that's the time to make your exit.

I'll save you the embarrassment I faced the first time I tried to pronounce the name of this delicious artichoke based liqueur… it's 'chee-nar'. A bona fide all rounder, both a delicious aperitif and because of the artichoke a lovely digestive too. It belongs to the same 'Amaros' family as Aperol and Campari, so if you're looking to lose your Cynar virginity, rather than going for it on the rocks I recommend starting with a fabulous negroni variant called a Berlioni.

You'll need

• 50ml Cynar
• 50ml vermouth (I like to go sweet for this one to take the edge off the bitterness)
• 50ml gin
• Orange strip to garnish

Make it:

• Pour all the ingredients over ice into a small tumbler
• Stir for 10 seconds
• Pinch the orange over the top of the glass, wipe around the rim and drop it in the glass