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.

Bottle at home in Hackney - picked up from HOTM. Pours black-brown with a frothy, beige topping. Medium to big sweet flavour, rich and punchy dark malts, light metal note, raisins, dried and chocolate-covered berries, ashy roast, booze, charred barrel. Full bodied with massaging carbonation and velvety texture. Finishes with more layered bittersweet chocolate, more ashy roast, warming booze, some lightly smoky whisky, earth, more raisins. A fun and full-on BA stout.

dark brown colour, minimal beige-ish lacing; aroma of dark chocolate, orange peel, soy sauce, some licorice and coffee notes; taste has the same notes with definite alcoholic spiciness; great one, as expected from a Struise beer

0.33l bottle thanks to Lore. Black body with no head. Aroma and taste of chocolate, nutmeg, cocoa, orange zest, prunes and bourbon. Well rounded and complex beer. Pretty similar to the base beer, but with more warming alcohol and a bit of twist from the barrels. Great one

330ml bottle. Jet black colour with slightly late awakening, small to average, thick, creamy, moderately lasting, minimally lacing, beige to tan head. Roasty, chocolately and yeasty fruity aroma, notes of dark chocolate, Belgian chocolate, blueberry, bramble, a touch of plum and blue grapes. Taste is bitter hoppy and bitter, roasty dark malty, slightly spicy malty, yeasty fruity and yeasty spicy, notes of liquorice, dark chocolate, Belgian chocolate, hints of bramble and blueberry, some vinous fruitiness with a touch of blue grapes, additionally a touch of dark caramel and burnt caramel with subtle residual sweetness, slight marmite-like spiciness. Dissolved sugar enriched, minimally acid thinned, watery texture, smooth and soft, minimally cloying palate, medium, soft carbonation. Surprisingly light and slender; pronounced fruitiness, relatively supportive, in no way dominant malty body, a dangerously drinkable, elegant sipper - best of breed.