Requited: Bourbon Barrel-Aged

500 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2016 vintage bottling. Pours slightly hazy deep golden amber/light orange color with a small foamy white head with decent retention, that reduces to a thin ring of lace pretty quickly. Slight spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big golden raisin, peach, pear, apricot, apple, honey, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and biscuit; with lighter notes of banana, pepper, clove, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. A touch of booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, bready malts, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge golden raisin, peach, pear, apricot, apple, honey, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and biscuit; with lighter notes of banana, pepper, clove, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate yeast and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of golden raisin, peach, pear, apricot, apple, honey, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, banana, pepper, clove, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, bready malts, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a great malt/spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from yeast/bourbon/oak spiciness. Mild carbonation and medium-full body; with a smooth, creamy/bready, fairly sticky/tannic, and lightly slick/silky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is fairly well hidden; a light-moderate warmth, with mild barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an awesome barrel aged Belgian strong pale ale. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, bready malts, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Really well rounded and balanced yeast, malt, and barrel complexity; and not overly sweet or heavy considering the ABV. A really enjoyable offering.