This is the sort of beer I ought to hate, you know, the ones where they put in a crap ton of different weird flavorings, none of which really belong in a beer. But off the bat, this is working for me, I like peppermint, and this smells very much like the white chocolate peppermint bark we make at home. That fresh pepperminty nose is really right on point and I want to keep sniffing it over and over before I even take the first sip. Poured opaque dark brown, minimal head. Ok so the flavor doesn't work as well. There's a fake mintiness that reminds me of the old binaca breath spray. There's a hint of roast. Maybe its too cold at this point, and the sweeter elements are not coming through, so I'm going to let this sit. Its higher grav than I expected, anyway. OK so some sweeter caramelized malts come through, I still don't taste much in the way of a bourbon barrel element. Its still rather dominated by the peppermint to the point it is almost all I can taste, outside of the malt backbone that gives this just a bit more heft and mouthfeel than when I first poured cold. So at most this is an OK christmas treat, a strong porter, pepperminty. But its not especially complex, or even well built outside of the peppermint nose. Its ok, thats it.

Dark pour with a red hue. Thin foam. Peppermint flavor with bourbon mixed in. Not sweet. Warm palate of peppermint. Easy carbonation

Strong peppermint nose, buttery dark chocolate underneath. Cola brown, thin tan head. Peppermint, dry. Light body, easy carbonation.