Dark Island Reserve
Orkney Brewery (Sinclair Breweries) in Stromness, Orkney, Scotland 🏴
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy Regular|
Score
7.69
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Dark Island reserve is a rich strong Orcadian Ale. After a gentle fermentation at our brewery, the beer is finished in old oak casks formerly used to mature fine scotch malt whisky. This unhurried process creates a timeless classic full of fruit, spice, oak and roast malt flavours.
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8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
bottle at home jan 2026 ...brewed jan 30 2006 ... dark red brown ...no head ..soft fruity blackcurrant toffee malts nose ..rich sweet malts ..big blackcurrant ..dark sweet soya malt
Tried
on 14 Jan 2026
at 18:00
3.4/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 3
Overall 15
A frothy tan head over a very dark brown body for a BW. The nose is malt, some dark fruit and possibly red wine. While this is an engaging beverage, the whiskey casking overpowers almost everything else that could create an engaging beer experience. This is dominate by peat from the scotch, scotch booziness, and some subsidiary tastes to the scotch, including vanilla and oak. It is very dry with a hint of smoke on top of the peat.
Tried
from Cask
on 23 Sep 2025
at 20:04
7.6/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
330ml bottle. Pours black with an off-white head. Aromas & tastes of rich coffee, dark chocolate, expresso, liquorice, raisins, prunes, whiskey & malt. Medium body. Sweet light bitter finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Sep 2025
at 21:13
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
2008 Bottled from Grog in Edinburgh, drank in 2009. Poured super dark with just a bit of head. Incredibly fruity, perhaps overpoweringly so. Also hints of vanilla. Some spice too. OK but a bit hard to take for the full 750 mls.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 May 2025
at 00:57
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Аромат бочки сначала, намеки на сладость, есть какие то древесные тоны, намеки на виски или бурбон и сладость легкая от них, хотя и немного жженых ноток. Цвет черный как у стаута, пенка тонкая, кремовая. Вкус по началу многослойный но при этом не яркий, вроде бы и есть дерево и сладость от виски но все не очень ярко при этом, не хватает тела что ли. В конце снова бочка, снова много виски, но уже без сладости практически. Как будто надо дольше его выдержать.
Tried
on 07 Feb 2025
at 06:07
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Bottle at Il Molo, Ferrara. Vintage 2022. Black with tan head. Very smooth, barrel, chocolate, salty, some smoke. Dry bitterness in finish. Medium bodied.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Il Molo
on 12 Oct 2023
at 20:19
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
From Ko: pours blackish with beige head. Aroma is whisky, vanilla, dark chocolate, tobacco. Taste is roasty, dry, slightly bitter. Burnt. Woody. Whisky. Quite nice.
Tried
on 21 Jan 2023
at 03:52
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Dark, but not black. Boozy sweet cherry sherry with coffee and chocolate. Tastes very edgy, front heavy, very sweet coffee chocolate. Works better with fancy chocolate.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Jun 2022
at 22:05
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Thick engine oil and almost no head Decent intensity in the aroma Felt quite thin for a beer with 10 horse power Maybe stored to long Dark malt, oak, whiskey, leather and coffee in the flavor [Bottle from Vinmonopolet Aker Brygge in Oslo, Norway]
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Dec 2021
at 15:56
7/10
Bottle online from The Orkney Brewery. Pours black with a one finger creamy beige head. Aromas of whisky, oak, roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, liquorice and caramel. Taste has the same notes as the aroma with added notes of molasses. Very thick body and smooth velvety mouthfeel. Very nice sipper.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Jan 2021
at 00:51