February Whisky of the Month

OK, I own up, I opened this bottle for Burns Night on the 25th January, to go with the haggis and mashed neeps and tatties, but kept some back for February as I wanted this to be my whisky of the month, and January already had a Whiskey of the Month (blog). So, my February Whisky of the Month is from Tomatin Distillery (website), on the road (A9), and near to, Inverness in Scotland. Tomatin is classified as a Highland Whisky, but is very close area-wise to being a Speyside Whisky, and is similarly non-peaty and very smooth. The distillery was set up in 1897, when they also built homes for their workforce (still used), as it was an isolated location.

The Tomatin Legacy Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (43.0%) is made from Scottish barley, with the naturally soft water of the Alt-na-Frith burn as its water source, then matured in used Bourbon casks and Virgin Oak casks. This produces a fruity grape aroma with hints of spices and vanilla, and a light peachy, biscuit and butterscotch flavour, and very easy to drink! If you haven't tried whiskies before, I would suggest this, a Speyside, or an Irish whiskey, would be a good start, and you can pick up a bottle of the Tomatin Legacy for less than £30, sláinte! 👍

Trappist January 2026

You'll have already noticed I ignored the call for 'Dry January' of course, but for this blog I went for the 3 Rochefort bottles they had at Hastings Eel & Bear (blog). I'll deal with them going up in strength, with a bonus La Trappe to finish off the blog. First the Trappistes Rochefort series (website). Brewing had started at the 13th century Abbey of Notre-Dame de St-Remy by 1595, whilst the monks worked on farming and mining beforehand. During the revolutionary period from 1789, the monks fled from French troops, returning 100 years later. Because of looting and the destruction of their church they built a new church and brewery and, as farming failed to meet the monastery's financial needs, they supplemented their income by selling their beers. 

By 1952 professional brewing became their main source of income, a new brewery was built in 1960, and since 2020 brewing in a brand new 'state of the art' brewhouse. They started brewing all 3 of these ales in the 1950s, Rochefort 6 being the first brewed from 1950. Hallertau (hopslist) and Styrian Golding hops (hopslist) are used for all their beers. Rochefort 6 (7.5%), aka as the "Trappiste" is a deep reddish amber colour, with a gentle fruity aroma, and fruity, slightly malty taste, a dry bitter finish, very easy to drink, nice one! 😁

The Rochefort 8 (9.2%) aka "The Speciale" was the third of these brewed from 1955, originally for the Christmas season. The aroma is dark fruits with a hint of cloves like a fruit cake, the colour is a darker tawny, and the flavours appropriately include a BIG fruity taste, with dark and dried fruits, and a very subtle toasted bread and malt, ending with a dry finish, but not quite as bitter as the Rochefort 6. I did like all of these, it's pretty darn good! 😋

The second eldest, first brewed in-between the other 2 in the early 1950s, Rochefort 10 (11.3%) aka La "Merveille" (trans. wonder or miracle). A deep reddish brown in colour, with a spicy, figs and dark fruits, slightly smoky aroma. It's sweet at first, and pretty much full of dark spicy fruits in the taste, a little chocolate too, drying out with a nutty slightly bitter finish. Indeed, a Black Forest Gateau of a beer, plenty of body, rich and luxurious, gorgeous. And not to forget that all the Rochefort ales are bottle conditioned of course, and all superb! 👍

Finally, the 10.0% Quadrupel from La Trappe (website), which La Trappe claims to be the first Quadrupel ever brewed! La Trappe Quadrupel is a dark reddish brown colour, and brewed with Hallertau Northern Brewer (hopslist) and Slovenian Super Steirer (also known as Super Styrian, ie Aurora grown in Slovenia - hopslist), this Quadrupel has a dark fruits and slightly vanilla aroma, as with many malty or slightly malty ales I detected butterscotch, as well as dark fruits in the flavour. Rich, slightly sweet, and smooth to drink, with warmth from the alcohol, but a dry finish, making it very drinkable, good stuff, cheers folks, Happy Trappist January! 😉

Siren CCC Caribbean Chocolate Cake Series

I had to drink these 4 beers from Berkshire brewery Siren Craft Brew (website) as soon as I saw the cans in Hastings Eel & Bear (blog), drinking one on the day, and the other three at home in the period leading up to Christmas, as you'll see from the other photographs. These beers are the 4 from their 2025 CCC (Caribbean Chocolate Cake) Stout series, apparently they brew something new every year, and they have been developing these series since 2013. There are a couple of uniquely used in Britain (at least they were) additions to these beers: they use wood infusion spirals (The Malt Miller), including "Cypress Wood and the distinctive spicy notes of Amburana" plus Cacao husks as well as nibs, in the maturation, producing big flavours! 😁

The first was the 7.4% Dark Chocolate CCC Imperial Stout, and I'm going to be using some similar terminology as I go through these, so let's start off by saying they are all pretty luxurious! 😉 As well as the aforementioned ingredients, Sabro hops (The Malt Miller) and lactose is added to all the brews, and coffee and liquorice to this. They say a "Tropical Stout with Cacao & Cypress Wood" and my notes say "I was surprised there was very little aroma, but boy, very much dark chocolate flavour, not very sweet at all, amazingly dry finish and refreshing!" Quality!

Next is the, again 7.4% Milk Chocolate CCC Imperial Stout, with vanilla added to this brew. They say a "Tropical Stout with Cacao & Cypress Wood" and my notes, "Says 'Milk' Chocolate, but has smooth real/darker chocolate flavour with a hint of vanilla." I thought it was pretty good too, but I added no superlatives for this. 😏

The third beer was the slightly stronger 8.4% Deconstructed Barrel CCC, with Bourbon 'Barrel Aged Cacao' added during maturation and also aged on chopped 'Barrel Staves'. They say "Tropical Stout aged on Bourbon Barrel Staves" and I wrote "BIG Chocolate flavour, hint of Whisky and Vanilla in the aroma, Dry Finish, Excellent!" 😊

Finally, the rather strong 14.0% (Darth By) CCC, apparently brewed with Emperor's Brewery of Leicestershire involvement (website), with vanilla and spices (not specified) added. They say "Imperial Tropical Stout with Cacao & Cypress Wood" and I noted "Subtle Chocolate Aroma with a hint of Coffee and Vanilla. Incredible Dark Chocolate taste +++ Rich and Thick. A dry finish after a sweet initial flavour." Luxurious indeed, loved it, cheers! 😋

PS. Just realised that I have had a CCC before, a 2024 version (blog). 👍

January Whiskey of the Month

The Christmas cards give a hint that I first tasted this a couple of weeks ago as my seasonal whiskey, but I'm presenting it as my January Whiskey of the Month, that is The Busker Triple Cask (40.0%), distilled at Royal Oak Distillery in County Carlow, Ireland (website). I had the stronger 44.3% The Busker Single Grain as my whiskey of the month 11 months ago (blog), so I may repeat myself a wee bit here, but this is a significantly different whiskey. 😊

The Busker Triple Cask is a blend of the Single Grain, Single Malt and Single Pot Still whiskeys in the distillery, and presented in a similar heavy squarish bottle, but with a different label obviously! This whiskey is matured in 3 different casks, first in Bourbon casks from the USA, then in Sicilian Marsala casks, and finally in Spanish Sherry casks, with the whiskey gaining unique influences in taste from each cask. It is pale amber in colour, quite sweet at first taste, with hints of dark chocolate, dried dark fruits, vanilla fudge and cinnamon to taste, and with a clean, but robust finish, again very reasonably priced, and very enjoyable, sláinte! 👍

Jolly Fisherman Dark Beer Festival Report

Indeed, I have attended the 2026 Dark Beer Festival held at The Jolly Fisherman (blog), 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR, and there were some very interesting beers available, and the 'rare classic' I mentioned is first on this blog's list. I'm starting off with the cask ales first, followed by the crafty keg beers, and with the full list in the bottom image, because I haven't imbibed them all. 😉 There are a few not great images, but those photographs were taken in the evening, so lighting wasn't great, my apologies, I trust you'll cope! 🍺

The 'classic' in question is Thomas Hardy's Ale (11.3%), originally brewed by Eldridge Pope, who sadly no longer exist, closing in 2003. In 2013 ownership of the recipe/brand was bought by 2 brothers, Sandro and Michele Vecchiato, in more recent times it has been brewed in West Sussex at Hepworth Brewery (website). You will notice that this barley wine, and the one following, aren't really dark beers at all, but they certainly are strong ales!

Thomas Hardy's Ale is brewed with Maris Otter pale malt, a small amount of Crystal malt in the grist, and with a small amount of cane syrup to increase the gravity. The hop varieties used are Fuggle (hopslist) and Golding (hopslist), producing a complex flavour, certainly big malt taste from the Crystal, my notes say "sweet start, dry bitterness, almost metallic finish, good stuff! 👍 The image I used includes the charity box for cystic fibrosis remembering my training module at Sydenham Children's Hospital, who were then the local 'experts' for the condition.

The second barley wine is a wee bit paler, brewed in the West Midlands at Sarah Hughes Brewery (website), renowned for their 6.0% Dark Ruby Mild. However, this ale was their Snowflake, named CAMRA's Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2 years ago. Similar to the Thomas Hardy's it is brewed with Maris Otter pale malt and a small amount of Crystal, and the same hops too, Fuggle and Golding, a barley wine recipe indeed, but with no added sugars to make it as strong. So, not as powerful, but still a big 8.0% with a fruity sweetness at first taste, with spicy orange and a hint of vanilla, but dried out to a bitter finish, nice one. 😁

My third cask ale here, though drunk earlier, was from the traditional heartland of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, and Burton Bridge Brewery (website), their 4.0% (dark) XL Mild. I believe brewed with the same hops as the 2 barley wines, but this is a much darker brew, very easy to drink, smooth with hints of liquorice and caramel in the taste, a little nutty, smooth and, yes, very easy to drink indeed, good stuff! 😊

On to my first keg beer and, from German brewery Konig Ludwig (website), their 5.5% Weissbier Dunkel, a Bavarian dark reddish wheat beer. They use Hallertau hops (hopslist) for their lighter weissbier, probably for this too, but certainly other hops from the same region must be used, although I do apologise for not being able to ascertain which hops. I found, quoting from my notes, it has a very fruity aroma and taste, dark and stoned fruits, hints of spices, chocolate and banana, light in depth and a dry bitter finish, very drinkable. 👍

Next, from the North West in Salford, Pomona Island Brew Co (website), their 6.5% Frangipane/Pastry Stout, No 'Rabbit in a Hat' Tricks, which does what it suggests, tasting of almond, vanilla and with hints of caramel and chocolate. I cannot find the hops used, but the flavour is dominated by the malts used and additions, it is a rich smooth luxurious beer! 👌

To Belgium for this one and Brouwerij Rodenbach (website), their Vintage, a classic 7.0% Flanders Red, matured in (not all of!) 294 enormous oak casks (foeders) for 2 years in cellars below the brewery, in which a secondary fermentation is created by wild yeasts. An older style of porter has a very important influence following Eugene Rodenbach's visit to England in the 1870s, where he learnt how to brew the porter of that time, which probably influenced his choice of hops too. Hops used in the copper include English types like Target and Brewers Gold, but the hops are used for retarding bacteria, not to balance the beer, the flavours develop in the foeders! Rodenbach Vintage tastes of red berries and tart apples, it really is bitter-sweet, not overly tart but gently pronounced. Surprisingly easy to drink. 😮

My penultimate beer reviewed is also from Belgium, but this time from a Trappist brewery, that is Chimay (website), and their 9.0% Grande Reserve (Blue). Chimay primarily use Hersbrucker hops for their beers (hopslist), sadly, I cannot discover whatever else is added for this one. Dark and dried fruits in the aroma and taste, with subtle hints of liquorice and chocolate, my notes say "complex and delightful" and yes, I liked it a lot, pretty darn good! 😁

Finally, the strongest ale here, just, a collaboration between West Yorkshire's Amity Brew Co (website), where it's brewed, and Leicestershire's Emperor's Brewery (website), Twelve Parsecs, a 12.0% Tiramisu Imperial Stout. Brewed with 8 different malt varieties, and for the tiramisu edge, Brazilian coffee beans are suspended in the fermenter for 2 days, replaced by cacao nibs for 5 days. The hops used are not divulged, but the aroma and taste are all about the malts, coffee and cacao, and they produce the desired effect, with chocolate, coffee and vanilla significant. It's described as a 'rich and decadent tiramisu stout' and that is what you get. 😉

I didn't drink every beer, as said above, a few too many for just a couple of visits, but the full list of what was available is in the image above, cheers folks! 🍻

This weekend (Friday the 9th to Sunday the 11th January 2026), there will be a Dark Beer Festival at The Jolly Fisherman (facebook page), 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR (tel: 01424 428811). There will certainly be some VERY interesting beers available, I haven't seen the full list yet, but I know of one rather rare classic that will be coming on, cheers! 😁

A Wee Bit Different - MEAD!

I have plenty of beer blogs to come, including one with input from a mate about beers and pubs in Clitheroe in Lancashire, but before I forget, I'm posting about this mead I recently bought, Festive Season-ish and all! From Axminster in Devon, Lyme Bay Winery (website), and their 14.6% Moniack Mead. This mead was originally made in the Scottish Highlands, 7 miles west of Inverness, at Highland Winery/Moniack Castle Winery until they stopped producing it in 2012 (started in 1979). Lyme Bay Winery bought the recipe soon after, and Moniack Mead is made to the original recipe, indeed, the bottle label says "Specially selected by Highland Wineries."

The history of mead goes back thousands of years, "potentially as far back as 20,000 B.C." in Africa (Batch Mead). However, it is neither beer, cider, nor wine, and very probably created before any of them, but is simply fermented honey with water and yeast added. Where, and from which plants, the nectar is harvested by bees influences the taste of honey, consequently mead too. 

Moniack Mead is a deep golden orange colour, with a big honey aroma. It tastes of honey in a significant way, of course, but the fermentation takes out much of the sweetness of the honey, and there are hints of butterscotch and caramel too. It could replace dessert wines at meal times, but is actually much less sweet than most dessert wines as it dries out in the aftertaste and is surprisingly easy to drink, not cloying at all, and not as heavy as you may expect, although very smooth and 'clean' to drink. I like it, indeed, I'll be back for more, sláinte! 😉