8.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

5 October 2023. Bottle from Stacks. Vintage 2018. Bottled: 14/4/2021.

Cloudy black, small, foamy, beige head. Strong aroma of black olive, soy sauce, ketjap manis, prune, sweet whisky, espresso, cocoa nib, charred wood, fig, pecan, vanilla bean. Taste has sweet prune & fig and a hint of sourish brambleberry wrapped in a dark-chocolatey, pecan-nutty, slightly toasty malt body; surrounded by umami notes of black olive & ketjap. Earthy hoppy finish, some spiciness added to the ongoing roasted chocolate & ash; vanilla-scented wood appears along with the warming whisky alcohol. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. A very satisfying and rounded experience; doesn't feel like 15%, the Balvenie treatment definitely makes it more mellow.

8

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

0.33 l bottle from 'Ace Drinks', 2018 vintage, bottled in April 2021. Pitch black with a medium large, frothy, almost stable, beige head. Sweetish-malty, gently roasty, minimally fruity aroma of dark chocolate, coffee, hazelnut and fruity whisky. Rather sweet, malty, gently roasty and a little fruity taste of dark chocolate, coffee, licorice, hazelnut, whisky and a touch of vanilla, followed by a short, gently roasty-bitter, slightly earthy and a bit boozy finish. Medium to full body, smooth, slightly creamy and moderately effervescent mouthfeel, soft carbonation. Moreish, saturating RIS, intense but still well-balanced, definitely one of my favourites from the recent Black Damnation releases.

7

Magus, suhkrune, marjane, puidune, belgia pärmine, röstine, siirupine. Hea.

8.3

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle thanks to sjogro. Black with creamy beige head. Creamy chocolate, lots of chocolate, vanilla, oak, blackberries, blueberries, earthy, light licorice, pecans and walnuts. Solid medium sweet, medium bitter. Full bodied, not really boozy. Really nice, Struise still makes some damn fine beers sometimes. Love the nuttiness in here.

7.1

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Pours black, small to no tanned head. Scent is raw, whiskey, mild oak. Mild roastyness. Taste is full, roasty, intense. Sharp, boozy whiskey experience. Not as Full-bodied as hoped. I wanted to try this since it used to be one of my biggest whale. Quality overall by them has declined and it shows. Not bad, but far from the magic they used to offer.

8.4

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

2018 batch released in early 2021. Near black with a ring tan head. Aroma of booze, oak, caramel, roast, coffee, whisky and chocolate. Ripe dark fruit and fudge notes coming out also as the beer opens up. As you drink more the booziness which initially dominates the foreground goes to the background and it becomes a joy. Flavour is heavy sweet and moderate bitter. Full bodied with quite some alcohol warmth and very soft carbonation. Fun to try this after all these years and I wonder how it compares to the original.