7

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

Bottle at Café De Koffer, Groningen. Aroma is strong whiskey with lots of oak, notes of dried red fruits, heavy on the barrel influence, with noticeable alcohol. Flavour is medium sweet with some harsh bitterness. Body is above medium. Quite an overpowering barrel aroma, could be more balanced.

7.2

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

Well stored bottle, tasted November 2022. Pitch black body under a huge beige head. Slow gusher. Aroma has dark malt, coffee, peat and bandage. Taste has this smooth malty, coffee, chocolate flavor as a base with the slightly more edgy peat, bandage, vegetable flavors in addition. Hint of wood and a bit more distinct alcohol touch than the Rain Shadow. Tasty and interesting, but I still prefer the cleaner flavors from Rain Shadow.

7.9

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

Again a bottle from the Sterk sales shelf. 5 years after bottling Pours jet black and a brown head with little retention. Aroma's: sour berries, woody, umami, hard roasted, coffee, dark chocolate. Retronasal follows this mostly, with a hint of iodine. Flavour is hard roasted moderate bitter, light chocolaty sweet and light sour. Medium bodied, soft carbonation. Long finish with tons of roast, ground coffee, dark chocolate, moderate bitter. Quite complex.

7.8

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

23/1/21: Bottled 16JAN17. Some slow foam crawling out of the bottle, lightly peaty smell, some red fruit acidity too. Quite high carbonation, bit thin. Taste is smokey, heavy, hard bitterness, plenty of roast. Whisky going on, good base stout underneath. Heavy one

26/12/22: Bottled 16JAN17, BB 16JAN22. Pours glossy black, coarse brown head. Smell is roasty, earthy, some peat, hints of red fruit. Bit thin, less carbonation than first time. Pretty damn bitter, lots of roast. Strong sharp smoke, almost acrid, bit whisky. Feels a tad watery, and don't enjoy the sharp smokey bitter. Age didn't improve, so no rating here.

8

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

Bottle at cropredy 2019 Saturday beer 6...as the sun came out... Dark black.. Thin tan lacing.. Big meaty whisky chocolate roast malts nose... Dark sweet chocolate roast big boozy whisky.. Dark sweet chocolate roast malts

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

330ml bottle, 2.5 years old, bottled 16 Jan 2017. Black with a tan head. Aroma of whisky, peat, smoke, chocolate, dark fruits. Taste is the same, boozy, sweet, chocolate, strong whisky character, peaty, smokey, dark fruits, malts. Full bodied, pretty rich and intense beer.

8

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

330ml bottle from Caps Off, Bishop Auckland. Black colour, brown foamy head leaving lacing and aroma of roasty malt, meaty, chocolate & coffee. Taste is roasted malty, ash, smoked meat, with dark chocolate, coffee, dried fruits, plum, woody, some whiskey and earthy bitterness. Smooth full bodied, soft carbonation, dry roasty boozy bitter finish. Very sippable.

8

Oak, light peat, scotch, plum jam, roast, smoke, ash, sour cherries, more sour oak, espresso. Smooth, rich, complex-gr8 scotch BA stout. 4.1