I like a product that speaks to me. Some softly whisper, beckoning from the shadows with crooked finger, whilst others get under your skin with enigmatic enticements to indulge. Then there are the ones that just bellow at you, hit you round the head with a sledgehammer, and drag you back to their cave.

Pistonhead falls firmly into the latter category. Airs and graces be damned, it just wants to have a good time. Heavily involved with live music, Pistonhead‘s rock’n’roll ethos runs deeper than the needle you might use to etch the tattoo-like’sugar skull’ logo into your skin. But there’s no need to get inked – this brand will get under your skin of its very own accord.

Particularly after you’ve partaken in a few Hot Shot Chasers, commencing with an adrenalin-inducing, heart-warming shot of Crude Oil. Not the real stuff, mind – even Pistonhead‘s not THAT hardcore. Rather, the name refers to the inky, oily pitchiness of a liquorice-laced liqueur – all fired up from chilli; cool as a cucumber from the iciness of aniseed.

It’s a hard act to follow, but the Hot Shot Chaser continues with the cracking open of a can of Kustom Lager – a malty, bitter brew based on Magnum, Perle and Spalter Select hops, full enough of body to take a bashing from that cruel Crude Oil. Both are products of the Swedish’Brutal Brewery Workshop’, whose name gives but a hint of how you’ll feel the morning after. You have been warned. Skol!

For more information on Pistonhead‘s Crude Oil and Kustom Lager, visit Proof Drinks or follow the mayhem @pistonheadLager