[330ml bottle at the Royal Standard of England, Beaconsfield] Served in a thistle-shaped glass which looks faintly ridiculous - no, scratch that, it’s downright embarrassing. Glass aside, the beer itself is dark brown with a moderate cream head and a slight fizz. At first it seemed a little thin, dusty and metallic, but I persevered and it developed to reveal rich port, chocolate and roasted malt flavours. It threatened to become too sweet for a whole, but the roasted malt carried just enough bitterness to save it. The alcohol was hidden at first, but quite apparent by the end. Turned out to be a decent sipper; I cetainly enjoyed it far more than the tacky glass and the initial taste led me to expect that I would.

A 330ml bottle was bought at Belgium Beers and shared with Finn. Deep, dark brown body. Tiny beige head leaving fragile lacing behind. Caramel malty nose. Slightly roasted caramel malts in flavour and with hints of raisin and brown sugar. All the sweetness is nicely offset by fruity hops towards the ending. Noticeable, warming alcohol (hotel room, Antwerpen 29.04.2011).

Bottle shared at De Paas. Clear brown pour with white head. Aroma of malt, toffee and old fruit. Matching flavor with emphasis on malt.

Bottle. Dark brown/red with small tan head. Flavour is malt, caramel, hops, yeast, fruit and bitter.

bottle@restaurant: creamy, smooth, delicate, bitter with a present sweetness and coupled aftertaste + bit dry finish, neat but uncomfortable thistle glass, I was really surprised how good this was given my previous emotionally scarring experience with Gordon beers

Bottle: Clear, amber coloured, quickly diminishing off-white head with a little lace; sweet toasty to dark-malty nose with a very small hoppy trace; moderate sweetish flavour, medium bodied; sweet-bitter finish, toasty-malty flavours including a faint fruitiness; followed by a delicate alcohol-burn in the aftertaste. O.K. .....

Blue Label, 8%, Gordon Finest Scotch Highland Ale. Shiny brown colour, white head. Sweet, full heavy malty nose, some cardboard and nuttiness. Sweet heavy malty taste, pollen, light herbal notes from the hops. Warming.

bottle, donated by pivnizub. Deep brown colour, large off-white head. Malty, hints of caramel, dried fruit, dates, raisins... Nice.

Bouteille 330ml, dégustée au Bistro des Bières Belges à Saint-Hubert. De couleur rouge-brune et claire. Nez malté de caramel sucré et de toffee terreux, moyen de fruits (raisins, léger de prunes, traces de cerises) et d’alcool liquoreux et léger de sucre brun avec des traces d’épices. Moyenne-ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen et une texture légèrement crémeuse et liquoreuse. Goût fruité (moyen de raisins, notes de cerises, traces de prunes) accompagné de faibles notes épicées (cannelle) lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute rapidement un goût malté de caramel sucré, légèrement terreux et aux petites notes rôties, un moyen goût de toffee et des traces de chocolat noir puis en finale l’on retrouve un léger-moyen goût d’alcool liquoreux avec de faibles notes de houblon herbeux. Post-goût long et aux petites notes sèches, légèrement amer d’alcool avec des notes fruitées (moût de raisins) et des traces de rôti. (hiver 2006-07)