Ola Dubh - 21 Year Old Special Reserve
Harviestoun in Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland 🏴
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular|
Score
7.53
|
|
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
Sign up to add a tick or review
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
26th November 2015
Scopey 10K Celebrations in deepest Croydonia. Thanks to Matteo. Almost opaque dark brown beer, small pale tan head. Smooth palate, a little dry. Mild carbonation. Bitterish dark malts with equally bitterish dark chocolate. Tangy dark fruits. Some cream sweetness provides relief. Some sherry soaked fruits. Dry finish. Not bad.
Scopey 10K Celebrations in deepest Croydonia. Thanks to Matteo. Almost opaque dark brown beer, small pale tan head. Smooth palate, a little dry. Mild carbonation. Bitterish dark malts with equally bitterish dark chocolate. Tangy dark fruits. Some cream sweetness provides relief. Some sherry soaked fruits. Dry finish. Not bad.
Tried
on 31 Dec 2015
at 11:27
8.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Tasting at my place. Zacht, diep, gebalanceerd. Chocolade, vanille ijs, donkere vruchten, (verbrand) hout, whisky. Dun laagje stof over de smaak. Smullen geblazen. Backlog from 2015/05/26. --- Beer merged from original tick of Ola Dubh 21 Year Special Reserve on 26 May 2015 at 21:09 - Score: 9. Original review text: Zacht, diep, gebalanceerd. Chocolade, vanille ijs, donkere vruchten, (verbrand) hout, whisky. Dun laagje stof over de smaak.Smullen geblazen
Tried
on 14 Dec 2015
at 09:57
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle big thanks to MattyO. It pours near black with a small tan head. The nose is bitter-sweet, oily, fruit cake, whisky, honeycomb, plum, fruit cake, jammy berry and candy. The taste is bitter-sweet, toasty, fruit compote, earth, some chewy sweetness, charred wood, sweet whisky, oily and some warmth with a a dry, toasty finish. Medium body and moderate carbonation. Well-rounded and pretty easy. A touch sweet if anything, but good anyways.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Nov 2015
at 14:59
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle split at Scopey 10K, thanks to Matteo, 26/11/15. Light black with a decent tan covering. Nose is rich dark fruit, spice, cocoa powder, toffee, dark malt. Taste comprises light peated notes - pretty subtle, chocolate malt, whisky barrel, toffee fudge, sweet and sour, toasted brown sugar. Medium + bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a tickle of booze. Decent olde.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Nov 2015
at 14:56
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle no. 07753, on APRIL 2014 with a best before date MAY 2017. Pours a real dark black-brown colour with deep ruby highlights. The head is a decent size, mocha-coloured with some good retention and lacing. Sweet aromas of caramel, butterscotch. All of this over the roasted malts, mild hops, smoked wood and dark fruits. The taste is not as sweet showing more the roasted malts. The hops are a little more present adding some bitterness. Light wood and peatiness lingers. Another good one.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Nov 2015
at 20:52
7.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 6
Smell of tar, oak, whisky. Black colour, tiny dark brown head. Aroma of whisky, oak, coffee, licorice, tar. Medium bitter, lightly oily texture. Carbon is flat and soft. Slightly watery.
Tried
on 20 Nov 2015
at 13:51
7.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Pours less viscous than expected to small shortlived greige head over sepia-black beer. Old shoes, wood, faint whisky/alcohol/fusels, bit nutty. Woody, tannines, bitterish on sweet underbuild, whisky, liquorice with (almost) no sweetvector, burnt. Not really thick, if somewhat viscous, bit undercarbonated. For some unfathomable reason (tired casks?) much less spectacular than the other Ola Dubh’s...
Tried
from Cask
on 06 Nov 2015
at 18:03
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
At the Belgrade-Serbia tasting on 31/10/2015. Bottle shared by markoijelena, many thanks. Pours black color with a minimal ivory foam, only lacing after a blink. Nose: deep and strong vanilla flavor, cherries, some smoked notes. Mouth: watery, frizzy finish with a bit of a peppery final. Rich whiskey taste with alcohol prominent notes.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Nov 2015
at 07:03
7.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle shared by Jack, thanks! Pours black with a dark brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a good amount of roasted malts and chocolate with some sweet dark grains and a bit of peat. Flavor has sweet dark grains, chocolate and roasted malts with a growing peat note.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Oct 2015
at 22:18
7.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
330ml bottle from De Molen Beershop
Pours pitch black with a bubbly head. Aroma of roasty malts, oak, wood, whisky, peat, chocolate and toffee. Taste is smooth, slick and slightly roasty with some oak, wood, whisky, vanilla and peat. Finish is smooth, oaky and woody with some vanilla, peat and whisky. Okay.
Pours pitch black with a bubbly head. Aroma of roasty malts, oak, wood, whisky, peat, chocolate and toffee. Taste is smooth, slick and slightly roasty with some oak, wood, whisky, vanilla and peat. Finish is smooth, oaky and woody with some vanilla, peat and whisky. Okay.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Sep 2015
at 06:14