8.1

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

750 ml bottle into snifter; no bottle dating, but is a recent release. Pours hazy dark ruby red/brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, brown bread, raisin, cherry, lemon/orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, juniper, spruce, cardamom, allspice, coriander, ginger, peppercorn, and clove; with light notes of anise, licorice, mint, cocoa, herbal, floral, and oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/rye/bready malt, rye whiskey barrel, and spice notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, brown bread, raisin, cherry, lemon/orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, juniper, spruce, cardamom, allspice, coriander, ginger, peppercorn, and clove; with light notes of anise, licorice, mint, cocoa, herbal, floral, and oak/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/spice bitterness and rye whiskey/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, brown bread, raisin, cherry, lemon/orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, juniper, spruce, cardamom, allspice, coriander, ginger, peppercorn, clove, mint, light anise/licorice, herbal, floral, and oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/rye/bready malt, rye whiskey barrel, and spice flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready, and fairly sticky/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden; a mildly increasing warmth of 13.6%, with a touch of booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is an awesome barrel aged spiced rye strong ale! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/rye/bready malt, rye whiskey barrel, and spice flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Opened up on complexity as it warmed. A lot going on, but it's not messy at all. Awesome balance between all flavors. Great rye barrel integration; never overly boozy, tannic, or drying. A really enjoyable, unique, and well made offering.