Brew York - Winona Ryeder Imperial Rye Stout (The Wee Beer Shop) By @SpectreUK

I can see what Brew York did with the title of this 8.0% in volume Winona Ryeder Imperial Rye Stout. I do love rye in beer for its spiciness, and I guess the brewer must be quite a fan. Produced in collaboration with Overtone Brewing Company, the back of the can does applaud Winona Ryder's performance in Stranger Things, which I thought she was very good in. Anyway, I have steak and chips tonight, so an Imperial stout will wash that down very well.

Not only was Crystal Rye and Rye Malt used in the brewing, but pale and biscuit malts, flaked oats, chocolate malt, Carafa III, roasted barley, and Mesquite Smoked malt were used in the production of this Winona Ryeder Imperial Rye Stout. The list of malts seems endless, but the can didn't mention what hops were used, so I guess I'll have to try it to find the bite. Let's hope there are no Demogorgons involved.

On opening the Stranger Things themed can there was the unmistakable spicy aroma of malted rye. Beautiful to my excited nostrils, you have no idea how relieved that makes me feel. I have tried so many rye beers that seem to overshadow the rye with other flavours. That spiciness was present in the taste from the get-go, followed by roasted chocolate malt and biscuit flavours, a sharp snap of herbal hops, and then a little coffee and mild smokiness to finish. Oh, this Winona Ryeder Imperial Rye Stout didn't half wash down my steak and chips dinner well. Gorgeous.

WHAM Sour Squad (Barratt) By @Cinabar

Firstly, a thank you to the lovely people at Barratt who sent me some of these new WHAM Sour Squad sweets to try. The sweets are shaped like spaceships and do look super cute. They are soft, foamy sweets with a sprinkling of sour sugar on the outside. In the bag, there are four flavours: raspberry, lime, lemon, and cherry.

I gave one a try and was impressed with the zingy flavour. They are quite sour to start, but the flavour softens to a pleasant sweetness, but there is still that sharp flavour running through it. The textures are nice too; they are soft but firm, and the sugary coating gives them a nice feel, almost crispy, when you first tuck in.

The lime flavour was probably the weakest; it was still good, but the flavour was the least defined, and it was just a little bit sour without the definition. The two red fruit ones were lovely; both the cherry and the raspberry started sour, had a very good strong flavour, and then allowed the softer sweetness to shine through. My favourite was the lemon; it was wonderfully sour and sharp, and although this too mellowed, the blast of lemon was just perfect and left that citrus kick all the way. Sadly, there were only two lemon sweets in the bag. Isn’t that always the way?

These WHAM Sour Squad sweets must be good because I realise as I’m writing this, I’ve eaten more than half the bag!

Hotel Chocolat - The Advent Calendar, Dark [@NLi10]

 This year we are light on advent calendars - we have a Lindt one that is mostly little balls (but nice), a cheese one (not mine) and this Black and sparkly one!

As this was off my parents I'd assumed it was Lidl or Aldi - but no, this is the mighty Hotel Chocolate.  They must mistakenly think I've been good this year!

It's a very luxurious affair - crispy foil covered windows and lots of sparkly bits

And like the chocolate - the gnomes inside are very intense - it's like they are looking into your soul.  I promise to be good!

The chocolates are very nice, but it's not a morning calendar - more of a cup of tea after dinner and a nice strong chocolate kind of affair.  Very grown up and sophisticated, and a nice daily treat.

Cadbury Dream Raspberry Bites (Candy Mail) By @SpectreUK

These Cadbury Dream Raspberry Bites sound more like a spring or summer treat, but they have been hiding at the back of the Foodstufffinds' cupboard for some time. So, now they are a winter pudding instead. Besides, accompanying a pot of vanilla low calorie ice cream, these Dream White Chocolate Bites with raspberry flavoured candy chips should go down a treat.

 

On opening the packet there was the sweet fruity aroma of raspberries and creamy white chocolate. I had a feeling these Cadbury Dream Raspberry Bites would be like eating white chocolate raspberry ripple, and I wasn't far wrong. There was a decent crunch as I took a bite out of the first Raspberry Bite.

There were candy flecks running throughout each Cadbury Dream Raspberry Bite, which tasted of sweet and fruity raspberries, all surrounded by a velvet cushion of white chocolate creaminess. Gosh, what a delight, and a perfect treat with my tub of low calorie vanilla ice cream.

Information on the packet; The 130g bag contained nutritional information that I couldn't even read with my glasses on. We managed to get the full calories at 707. It's fortunate that I exercise like mad and I have a sweet-tooth, so I left enough calories in my daily diet to eat the whole lot for my pudding. Please see photograph for the ingredients and nutritional information.

J2O Mocktails - Strawberry & Orange Blossom Mojito (Asda) By @Cinabar

Well, this is a bit of a step change for J2O drinks. We are very used to their wonderful fruit drinks, and J2O Glitterberry is always in my cupboard at this time of year. This is a soft drink in a small can, in the form of a mocktail. There was another variety, but I decided to give this J2O Mocktails Strawberry & Orange Blossom Mojito a try first.

The cans are small; they don’t quite fill a proper glass, but they aren’t too bad. The liquid is fizzy and pink, which I rather liked.

I gave J2O Mocktails - Strawberry & Orange Blossom Mojito  drink a sip and found it to have quite a complex flavour. There is sweetness from the strawberry and a delicate citrus tang from the orange blossom, which then leads to a sharp, zingy acidic lime taste and the herbal mint. I have to say I wasn’t expecting to pick up so many nice flavours. It did feel like a special drink, and maybe not for every day, but this could be perfect for any visitors over the Christmas period who are driving. I’m impressed and really enjoyed it. I will definitely look into what other flavours are available.