It was the year that proved band-branded booze was here to stay - and here are four of the best. Cheers!
KILLER QUEEN VODKA
The Band: Queen
The Bottle: suitably regal – a blue and shiny silver label, with elegant gold lettering. Fit for a queen, naturally.
The Brew: at 40%, it’s no stronger than your average vodka – but it’s incredibly smooth, with no impurities. The kind of vodka you could drink neat without waking up the next morning feeling like you’ve eaten someone’s moustache.
PILEDRIVER ALE
The Band: Status Quo
The Bottle: no-nonsense glass, with a label reading ‘Rockin’ all over the world’.
The Brew: thankfully there’s no whiff of denim. Lighter (4.3%) than you’d expect from the Quo, this hoppy brew slips down, down, deeper and down very easily.
BLACK TONGUE ALE
The Band: Mastodon
The Bottle: tall, dark and ominous. No ridiculous beards, though.
The Brew: whoah, that’s strong – 8.3%, no less. A deep Christmas cake taste, with notes of fig and molasses. For the first half-pint, anyway. After that you’ll probably just fall over.
SAMMY’S BEACH BAR RUM
The Band: Sammy Hagar.
The Bottle: frankly, disappointing. Mainly because they only sent us a bloody miniature.
The Brew: made from pure Hawaiian cane sugar, it has plenty of ‘nose’. Its warming quality evokes days and nights on the beach in Maui. Or at least it did for the 30 seconds it lasted.
