Swordfish ale commemorates battle of Taranto with 1.5 million sales

Devizes-based Wadworth brewers have sold 1.5 million pints of their famous Swordfish ale since it was first brewed five years ago.

The landmark sales figure coincides with the 74th anniversary of the Battle of Taranto on 11 November, the Second World War battle in which the Fleet Air Arm's iconic Fairey Swordfish aircraft badly damaged the Italian fleet while it was at anchor in Taranto harbour.

Swordfish was originally brewed following a request from the Fleet Air Arm who wanted an ale to mark their centenary celebrations in 2009, Swordfish was one of the first beers brewed with the addition of a spirit, and quickly became a favourite in pubs.

Paul Sullivan, sales and marketing director for Wadworth, commented: "When we were asked to brew commemorative ale for this important occasion, we wanted to make sure it had real Naval connections.

"We came up with the idea of incorporating a tot of Pusser's Rum into the beer, which directly referenced the history of a ration of rum in the Navy. The process of blending beer with rum involved developing some pioneering techniques and our head brewer Brian Yorston was one of the first to achieve this."

The beer is now Wadworth's second best selling beer after 6X.