Dégustée à l'automne 2016 (De mes notes). .

Golden-brown, the aroma is sugar pie, rhum, light apple fruit. Light sweet sugars, with the pale malt, dried apricots, dates, and golden syrup. Good brew, nice barrelly balance. Well I knew I was going to like this.

Bottle shared at Dean’s off for his annual haircut tasting thanks to JulienHuxely. Pours cloudy amber brown with a tan head. Aroma of toffee, vanilla, fruits, dried citrus fruit, caramel. Flavour is light heavy sweet and light bitter. Full bodied with soft carbonation.

Bottle @THT Jan 2015 cortesy of and shared with JulienHuxley. Vanilla aroma. Thin white head. hazy amber pour. Subtle rum notes. Well balanced and easy drinking despite the abv.

Pours deep clear amber into a snifter. White head with little retention recedes to mottle surface. Molasses, rum and oak aromas. Thick with sweet caramel and toffee upfront turning to mild molasses and rum in the warming finish.

Pours a slight hazy deep amber with a small warm cap, not much retention, but some head stays on the top, and around the ring. Fruity aromas with caramel and some light alcohol, creating some burnt caramel desert nose. The alcohol is well blended in the taste with some fruity malts and nice mild hop bitterness. The rum barrel does add to this beer and can be tasted. Goes down smoothly with a beautiful warming feel. This is a great sipper and recommended on the back of the bottle with a cigar, cheeses or chocolate.

Glass, 4-ounce, draught, during the Hivernale des brasseurs, savoured on December 7 2013; eye: dark brown, lightly hazy, tiny ring of off-white head, nice lacing; nose: rum, light woody, malt, caramel, light yeast; mouth: rum, light woody, malt, caramel, light yeast, finale in light rum with presence of Cointreau, medium body, mildly sweet, a bit thin; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Verre, 4 onces, en fût, lors de l’Hivernale des brasseurs, savourée le 7 décembre 2013; œil : brun foncé, légèrement voilée, petit anneau de mousse blanc cassé, bonne dentelle; nez : rhum, léger boisé, malt, caramel, léger levure; bouche : rhum, léger boisé, malt, caramel, léger levure, finale en léger rhum avec présence de Cointreau, corps moyen, moyennement sucrée, un peu mince; en résumé : correct

Bottle from MartinT (thanks!) drunk on 3/9/14
Amber body is clear, with some ruby/auburn tints and a light beige head that is small but retained fairly well for being barrel-aged.
Liquor in the nose is quite prominent. Can’t really differentiate the rum from, say, bourbon as it still smells quite woody, tannic and full of buttercream and coconut. Red fruits, (raspberries, cherries) dipped in caramel with vanilla and toffee. Some dry, grainy alcohol notes actually help to break up the sweetness. Medium strength of aroma.
Sweet, soft and toffeeish in the mouth, the rum does develop, keeping the palate from becoming too sweet and giving a dry, well, rum-like flavor on the finish. Raisins, cinnamon and lots more sugar all collect on the palate. Highly carbonated, pronouncing the rum dryness and some alcohol sharpness on the finish. Somewhat monotonous toffee sweetness beats at the palate, fatiguing it. I’m about 4 mouthfulls in and I already don’t want to drink anymore. Going to go smoke a cigar and drink this with it and see how that holds up. They do actually recommend it on the back label, which is pretty cool. I do like the beer, maybe not as much as Harrymel likes it, but still gotta give it respect despite barrel-aged barleywines being probably my least favorite beer style. Well-made. Would love to try their IPA.

Ça sent le bon caramel,le toffee, le beurre, le tout soutenu par des efflufes d’alcool, de rhum, sans pour autant être trop agressif. Ègalement prèsentes, de petites notes de jujube. Olfactif assez standard et peu élaboré, mais très agréable. Le visuel se présente ambré et flou, avec une mousse d’épaisseur moyenne, légèrement crémeuse et fugace. Elle colle bien mais ne laisse que des traces sans aucune dentelle. Gustatif: Le caramel fait son apparition en premier, enveloppé è la perfection par l’alcool et tempéré par des houblons floraux discrèts. De petites notes de noisettes se glissent au travers ces saveurs. La sensation en bouche demeure très chaude, réconfortante. L’équilibre caramel / alcool est très juste et sa texture est ronde et corpulente. Un très bon Barley Wine, chaleureux, réconfortant, tout en caramel et en alcool. Une plus grande palette de saveurs aurait été appréciée.