8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

22 ounce bottle into chalice, bottled on 8/30/2018. Pours slightly hazy dark ruby red, light copper/brown color with a small fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with solid retention, that reduces to a minimal spotty lace cap that lingers. Minimal lacing and some clinging bubbles on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Good appearance. Aromas of big raisin, plum, prune, fig, cherry, date, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, and brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, peppercorn, clove, nuttiness, chocolate, licorice, molasses, herbal, grass, and yeast/toast/oaky earthiness. Slight booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/earthy/spicy yeast, candi sugar, dark/bready/light roast malt, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge raisin, plum, prune, fig, cherry, date, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, and brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, peppercorn, clove, nuttiness, chocolate, licorice, molasses, herbal, grass, and yeast/toast/oaky earthiness. Mild herbal, floral, grassy, roast bitterness; and yeast, bourbon, oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark fruits, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, brown bread, coconut, peppercorn, clove, nuttiness, chocolate, licorice, molasses, herbal, grass, and yeast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/earthy/spicy yeast, candi sugar, dark/bready/light roast malt, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hop flavors; with a solid malt/sugar/bitterness, and yeast/bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and yeast/bourbon/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/sticky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mildly increasing warmth of 9.9%, with minimal barrel booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged Belgian dubbel style. All around outstanding omplexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/earthy/spicy yeast, candi sugar, dark/bready/light roast malt, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hop flavors; dangerously smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV; with the mildly bitter/spicy/tannic/drying finish. Amazing balanced rich malts, Belgian yeast, candi sugar, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Not overly boozy/tannic on barrels, despite being in the barrels for 20 months. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness; well attenuated for the ABV. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example as expected. A definite improvement over the base beer.