Drinks giant Diageo has added a new vodka Smirnoff Gold to its portfolio in the UK.

The vodka features natural cinnamon flavouring and contains an edible 23 carat gold leaf in every bottle to stand-out on shelf.

The launch of the Smirnoff Gold vodka is supported by £4.5m marketing campaign.

According to the company, the new blend is designed to appeal to consumers seeking new flavours, and is set to drive incremental sales into the vodka category.

Smirnoff Western Europe marketing manager Karen O’Shea said Smirnoff is leading the way in innovation within the vodka category and this new premium offering represents a significant opportunity for retailers to grow their vodka sales by encouraging consumers to trade up.

In addition to Smirnoff Gold, the company is also launching a new signature serve Smirnoff Apple Bite, a blend of Smirnoff vodka, lemonade and apple juice.

Smirnoff Apple Bite will be available in a pre-mix can to increase sales in the off trade.

O’Shea said the launch of Smirnoff Gold and their new signature serve, Smirnoff Apple Bite, builds on their ‘Drink Inventively’ positioning; encouraging consumers to experiment with different flavour combinations, and driving category growth by attracting new and existing Smirnoff consumers with a highly unique, premium offering.

The Smirnoff Gold vodka is available for sale in the UK from mid-August 2013 with recommended retail price of £21.95 per 700ml bottle.