Harviestoun Ola Dubh - 21 Year Old Special Reserve

Ola Dubh - 21 Year Old Special Reserve

 

Harviestoun in Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

  Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular
Score
7.53
ABV: 10.5% IBU: 40 Ticks: 94
We make Ola Dubh 21 by taking our Old Engine Oil (amped up to 10.5%) and aging it for up to 6 months in casks that previously held Highland Park’s phenomenal 21 Year Old single malt whisky.

Ola Dubh (pronounced ‘ola-doo’ and Gaelic for ‘black oil’) was conceived in 2007. It was the first ale to be matured in whisky barrels from a named distillery and, with traceable casks and numbered bottles, it is a beer with real provenance.

This amazing brew has been aged in selected oak casks formerly used to mature Highland Park 21 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, adding complementary whisky notes to our chocolatey, bittersweet beer.

Ola Dubh 21 pours deep brown with a burgundy flush and a head the colour of milled oatmeal. On the nose it has gently-finessed top notes of fresh heather and honey, subtly toasted malts and vanilla with balancing hints of red fruits and a distant, beguiling smoke. The flavour has elegantly-subtle developing wine-like notes; from bitter chocolate and espresso beans into to a sustained, oaked conclusion. Extended, oaky finish with pine resin, juniper, perfumed honey and traces of peat.

Hops: East Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Galena
Malts: Lager Malt, Pinhead Oats, Roast Barley
 

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7.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 8
Bottle @benzai. Black colour with a small light brown head. Smells liquorice, roasty, sweet. Mostly liquorice. Tastes roasty, chocolate, sweet, hint of bourbon, nice! Medium body, low carbo.
Tried from Bottle on 28 Aug 2014 at 14:14

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
12 oz. bottle, pours black with a tiny tan head - looks like a stout. Nose brings out deep dark roasted malt, some dark fruits, and some wonderful slightly smoky whiskey notes. Flavour is more whiskey-dominant, bringing out smoked peat upfront (without being too smoky or peaty), some vanilla, a little unsweetened cocoa, and some woody roasted malt. Very complex - in fact, one of those most complex of this Ola Dubh series. Has the perfect amount of smoked peaty whiskey notes, mixed with some solid woody roast. Excellent stuff.
Tried from Bottle on 29 Aug 2013 at 20:39

8.3/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 9 Flavor 10 Texture 6 Overall 8
Cask. Handpull. My finishing beer at Churchkey in the colonies, less than a mile from that White House that the Brits burned 201 years ago, the bloody bastards. Extremely dark brown color, bright tan edge head. Aroma of dark bittersweet cocoa and a bit of vanilla. Taste starts with bittersweet cocoa, then the whisky kicks in, with its rich vanilla, smokey edge and dark fruit. Delicious.
Tried from Cask on 30 May 2013 at 15:59

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
On draft a Pizzeria Paradiso in Dupont Circle D.C.. Pours black with a tan head. Flavors of roasted malt, and intense smoky whisky notes. Quite similar to the 12. Very tasty.
Tried from Draft on 28 Apr 2013 at 16:10