Ola Dubh - 21 Year Old Special Reserve
Harviestoun in Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland 🏴
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular|
Score
7.53
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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
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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8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle from Cap Tap. Pours very dark brown with a slight, transient tan head. Aroma of chocolate and peat smoke. Really quite pleasant. Approaching full bodied. Flavor is chocolate, peat smoke and dark malt. It’s a bit sweet, but there is accompanying bitter. Finish is earthy, peaty, chocolaty. Maybe woody too. Really good stuff.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Nov 2016
at 22:35
7.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle. Dark brown with a small light tan head. Vanilla, fruit cake, some smoke, strong bread. Really surprisingly thin bodied - sometimes with these Ola Dubhs you wonder how much the whisky adds to Old Engine Oil, here it’s almost as though it’s been made with an especially weak version. 3- But there’s dark chocolate and bread to support the lovely Highland Park whisky notes, and although the whisky dominates, it’s not boozy and the flavours are well enough integrated. Not a bad beer but I’d come to expect a lot more.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Nov 2016
at 07:40
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
0.33l bottle, bottle nr 07639 brought home from Whole Foods. Oh, this aroma brings me back many years. It's been way too long once the last time I had a Ola Dubh. It's really deep and dark brown in the glass, initially not much of a head to write home about, then it forms a medium sized deep brown top, quickly fading in to a sidesticking and bubbly thing. Could in other words have looked better. The aroma is filled with lovely whisky. Mild peaty, lots of burnt wood. It's smoky and deep roasted. Yeah, no doubt it's a Dubh. Lots of flavor also, but it's surprisingly watery. Both in the mouthfeel and in the taste - to my surprise. It's sharp and a tad top boozy imo. No where near the other ice had in the series. Mild dark chocolate and sweet kind of licorice. Whisky and burnt wood. A little disappointed compared to how I remember this series, but still it's undoubtedly a lovely Dubh. 24.07.2015
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Oct 2016
at 06:28
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle #06316, bottled at April 2014. Almost böack, a brown head is medium but it’s decreasing quickly. Aroma has salt liquirice, smokey turf, some sweetness of malts. Taste has roastiness, some salt liquirice and smoke, hint of berries. Medium bodied, smooth to drink. Balanced and succesfully beer, the barrel is clearly noticed but it’s not too dominating.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Aug 2016
at 05:22
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
330ml bottle from Saveur Biere online. Pours black-brown in colour with a biege foam head leaving lacing and aroma of malt, molasses, toffee, oak, chocolate. Taste is roast malty, dark chocolate, dried fruits, woody oak, vanilla and spicy bitterness. Smooth mouthfeel, medium bodied, soft carbonation, dry roast bitter finish. Very drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Jul 2016
at 16:37
9/10
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Jun 2016
at 22:00
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle.Black colour with no head.Aroma is smooth with taste of wood vanilla and roasted malt,flavor is oily with hint of whisky and caramel,full body and creamy finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Jun 2016
at 02:49
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
330 ml bottle at home from trade with Douberd. Thanks Christos! Dark brown almost black color with beige head. Malty aroma, roasted, chocolate, dark dried fruits, vanilla, wood, smoked when it gets warmer. Sweet and bitter taste like aroma with some vinous notes. Medium oily body with soft carbonation
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 May 2016
at 15:24
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle at KØ16. Good vanilla aroma. Black colour, seems cloudy. No head. The flavour is creamy with a good vanilla note. Not too sweet, but well-balanced. Roasted finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 May 2016
at 06:04
8.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Black with a brown head - Aroma of roasted malt ans ome smoked malt, olso some wood and vanilla notes as well as some hints of whiskey - Good roasted malt body with smokey notes and some wood and vanilla with some alcohol heat in tha back - The roasted and smoked malt goes into the finish with some bitterness and there is some woody notes along with some whiskey and alcohol in the back - This was real good
Tried
on 13 May 2016
at 16:20