Bottle. Pours a hazy orange gold with medium white head that lasts. The aroma is strong funk, oak, earth, brandy, mineral, apple skin. Thin body, citrus, oak, funk, nice sweetness from the brandy, enjoyed this.

The fifth and, to date at least, most recent batch of this Cantillon specialty, containing lambic that was aged on brandy barrels. This latest version is made a bit differently from the earlier ones, which contained either cognac barrel aged lambic (first three batches, 2007 up until 2015) or armagnac barrel aged lambic (fourth batch, 2017): the wort was placed directly in brandy barrels to mature this time, creating a more outspoken brandy presence, which indeed remained quite subtle in the earlier batches. Noteworthy, too, is that this time Cantillon speaks of 'brandy' without specifying whether it was cognac, armagnac or another type of brandy: I assume it was neither cognac nor armagnac but indeed a more 'generic' form this time. Snow white, bubbly, irregularly mousy, lacing, opening head, hazy ochre-tinged apricot-golden robe. Powerful, distinct bouquet of peach kernels, grass silage, butter or even vague butterscotch, indeed some brandy clearly distinguishable (also in a kind of caramelly scent), minerals, ozone, dried grape skins, musty cellar, old wood, ripe pear. Estery-fruity onset, pear, green apple and white grape as well as sour whitecurrant, tart but not too sharply so, minerally carbonation, full and vinous, supple body; lactic sourness grows stronger and stronger with drying effect, deeply penetrating a smooth white-bready core, further dried by woody tannins and a more crisp, fruity, berry-like sourness, up until the brandy sets in, adding a vague grapey sweetness, nuttiness and caramelliness. Long, sour finish, citrus peel and sour berries playing along and going down in an elegantly, but thoroughly drying end phase. Indeed different from the other variants, in being more outspoken in the brandy department, with a kind of buttery-caramelly effect that I do not recall from the others. Absolutely stunning, a true Cantillon masterpiece - once again.

Magus, kuiv, pirn, puuviljane, puit, viinamarjane, natuke konjakit. Lõpp on väga kuiv ja natuke magus. Väga hea. --- Beer merged from original tick of 50°N-4°E (2018) on 14 Dec 2021 at 23:17. Original review text: Sama mis 3452474.

Backlog from this weekends Zwanze celebration at Zum Franziskaner.