It’s not just winter cockles that need warming with Killarney Brewing & Irish Whiskey releasing an 8-year-old premium blend sourced from some of the finest distilleries in Ireland.

Boasting bold vanilla, dark chocolate, salted caramel, digestive biscuit and red apple flavours, it’s deliciously smooth despite being a sturdy 46% and really opens up with a drop of water.

As part of an ingenious role reversal pairing, it’s been aged in imperial stout barrels whose own contents have been drained and aged in whiskey casks, resulting in a 9.6% Imperial, which is easily the best beer we’ve tasted this year.

The 1,092 whiskey ‘n’ stout combo sets, which commemorate the number of years since the storied monks of nearby Innisfallen Island released their treasured cache of historical documents, are available from Kerry off-licences priced €100 or from https://ie.irishmalts.com/blended/killarney-8-year-old-inaugural-whiskey-imperial-stout but do not dilly or indeed dally.