Bottle big thanks to deeblo. It pours deep ruby-brown with a small beige head. The nose is earthy, wood, vanilla, toasted coconut, cocoa, dried fruits and toffee. The taste is smooth, toast, vanilla, coconut, plum, fig, raisin, currants, vinous, candy, minimal alcohol, wood, earth, caramel, light smoke and charred wood with a smooth, warming finish. Full body and soft carbonation. Great depth a brilliant balance. Hides alcohol very well-indeed. A great beer all-round.

Bottle shared at Bruce’s in London - huge thanks to the Boss. Pours clear brown with almost no head. Rich dark, ripe fruit aroma, tons of figs and dates, supple wood, light earth, hints of cocoa. Big sweet flavor with syrupy ripe fruits, hints of smoked meat, caramel, dates, stewed apples, wood. Full bodied with soft carbonation. Chewy. Warming finish with unbelievable depth, intense dark, dried fruits, raisins, figs, dates, subtle smoke, cake, hints of torched wood. Absolutely delicious. Even a small sip yields an insane amount of flavor. Superb.

Yellow! Something special for rating #2000 - a bottle of Matt from 2010! Thanks to TheBeerSommelier for serviing this up to me! Pours cloudy deep brown with a touch of red. Very little head, although a ring of tan foam does pop up eventually and leave some lacing on the glass. Aroma is definitely "from the wood." There is something very distinctive about HOTD’s barrel aged beers. Very rich aroma, dark fruits, lots of dark sugars, molasses, burned caramel, a bit of smoke, perhaps cherry, bourbon of course, oak, chocolate. Flavor is basically heaven - a bit smoky, oaky, bourbon, lots and lots of dark fruity and sugary notes. Quite sweet, with some woody astringence and not much bitterness. Full body, creamy mouthfeel. Some heat evident, but considering that it is 12.5% I would say it drinks pretty well. Yep, this beer deserves its status. Awesome.

Bottle - Vintage 2010 - Chocolate, bourbon, soy and oak. Mahogany with no head. So well balanced with oak, bourbon and booze. Brilliant.

split at a blind tasting with 77 ships. ( blind to him since this was my bottle) looks very dark, no foam. smell is a hint of bourbon. dry, sweet ( bourbon) yet no overkill at the BA -taste. very low carbo, wich is good. alcohol is very high in the taste . also get chocolat. aftertaste is boozy

THX! for sharing this one Kraddel. 355 ml. bottle. 2010 Vintage. Pours blackish / very, very dark mahogany brown with light Bordeaux hues &… no head. Yep, its as expected flat. Nose carries sweet bourbon, sticky molasses, syrupy dark fruits, clean good quality spirit riding on top of the bourbon barrel, I still find Eau de Vie barrels – even apple ones apparently – weird barrels to use since they basically just add spirit to the whole (albeit good quality), lots of sweetness in the nose of this one, sweet scared barrels & wood vanilla, dark sugar, clean spirit as mentioned riding on top of the bourbon. Taste is sweet dark apples, thick caramel, very thick syrup, thick molasses, creamy barrel & bourbon notes, white wood, lots of sweetness, syrup dark fruits, clean spirit riding at the end, this feels quite boozy & strongly alcoholic, +20 % ABV not 12.5 % ABV, wood vanilla, black chocolate, charred barrels, very warming, the alcohol warms you up in the back. Basically no carb, interesting how this would be with some light carb & slick, full which makes the carb. not all too missed. Fine stuff from Alan.

Bottle at home, gifted with many thanks to Frank, 18/01/13. Extremely dark mahogony brown almost black out of the light with no head. Nose carries a big bourbon hit, plummy, raisens, wood tones, dark candied sugars, booze, fruit cake, toffee apple, lots going on and coming together well. Taste comprises dark malt, toffee apple, booze, bourbon, wood, candied sugars, shades of Calvados. Full bodied, smooth - great on the palate, fine carbonation, boozey finish. Complex stuff, well balance, ticks all of the boxes for me !

Rating # 2500! Bottle from a trade with 5000. 2010 vintage. Pours very dark brown color with no head. Aromas of dark fruits, molasses, bourbon, brandy and a hint of alcohol. Roasted and lightly smoked malt flavors with molasses, chocolate and dark fruits. The bourbon is definitely more dominant than the brandy, but both are evident. Thick, syrupy body with no carbonation. Even with no carbonation this is a very enjoyable sipper. Huge thanks Andre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YpLDGUjxtG4