Oak-aged Italian barley wine with light yellowish beige, creamy head, still quite stable in relation to the alcohol volume. Colour deep copper with orange glow, misty, somewhat darker after adding the deposit. Marvellously perfumed aroma, noticeable from a distance of a few metres, overwhelming with impressions of marmelade, port wine, candied cherries, cinnamon, pepper, wood, honey, calvados, kahlua, cranberries and liquorice. Soft taste, exotic fruits in a kind of dry sweetness, not sticky, smooth and bit granular mouthfeel, very complexely malty, turning woody and liqueurish in the end, aromatic, herbal, long hoppiness, nothing disturbing or astringent to it. To me this approaches perfection, a very memorable experience and one of the most perfect beers I ever had the pleasure to taste, but only suitable for the true barley wine afficionado, I guess.

The fancy little 33cl dark green glass bottle (dated with 2022 and Lotto L011 12 ’er somethin’) pours with a clear copper body and thin gold edges supporting a thin light tan head of foam. The aroma is nice and sweet with cherries and ripe deep red plums simmering in brown sugar with a dash of caramel candy here and there and ending with a slight sense of the bruising ABV. The taste is similar with sweet rich molasses and caramel covered plums, ripe cherries and dates. The dark fruitiness picks up a nectar like fruit juice quality toward the finish as well as a light fruit like tartness creating added richness and depth and balance to this terrific ‘sipper’ experience.