8.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Frothy good mostly lasting head. Dark brown colour. Heavy malty and modetrate hoppy aroma-. Heavy bitter flavor. Long great finish. Creamy palate.

8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5

2018 bottle shared by one of the boys in Chapel Hill.

Dark brown pour with a slight russet hue.
Savory, mellow malt with a slight berry nose.
Vinous, strong brown ale with some heartier soot in the middle, creamer, spot of steak sauce acid on the tail.

Lovely.

8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

8.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle: Poured a deep black with a tan head. Aroma is rich roasted malt, smoke, boozy, woodsy. Taste is super boozy, sherry, roasted malts, roasty, lingers around the mouth.

8.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle from Drankenhandel Leiden. Aroma is chocolate, roasted malt, whiskey, some nice (dried) fruity notes, and a touch of liquorice. Flavour is mild to medium sweet with a little bitterness and booze in the finish. Drinks quite below it's hefty 15%. This is really quite to my liking, such wonderful balance between Stout and barrel.

6.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle.Pitch black colour with small head.Aroma of licorice and soya feel boozy and strong with oily finish not my cup of tea.

7.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

330mL bottle, pours black with almost no head. Nose is quite woody, with gentle sherry-like oxidation, gentle whiskey, and a touch of roast. Flavour is very barrel-forward, with lots of generic woodiness, lightly smoked whiskey, some sherry, and a light roasted base. Finishes dry, woody, with both the whiskey and sherry showcasing. Carbonation is basically flat, which isn't ideal but the complexity is there to be appreciated. For a 15%er, this doesn't drink that massively. Very nice.

6.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

33 cl bottle @ Pirkkala. Batch #20210018: bottled 14.04.2021, BBE 14.04.2026 Aroma has fruity hops, some licorice. Flavour has salty licorice, ash and tobacco. No signs of barrels here. Too salty for my taste.

8.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

5 October 2023. Bottle from Stacks. Vintage 2018. Bottled: 14/4/2021.

Cloudy black, small, foamy, beige head. Strong aroma of black olive, soy sauce, ketjap manis, prune, sweet whisky, espresso, cocoa nib, charred wood, fig, pecan, vanilla bean. Taste has sweet prune & fig and a hint of sourish brambleberry wrapped in a dark-chocolatey, pecan-nutty, slightly toasty malt body; surrounded by umami notes of black olive & ketjap. Earthy hoppy finish, some spiciness added to the ongoing roasted chocolate & ash; vanilla-scented wood appears along with the warming whisky alcohol. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. A very satisfying and rounded experience; doesn't feel like 15%, the Balvenie treatment definitely makes it more mellow.