On tap at Lajbah, Ljubljana. Dark brown with almost no head. Malty, caramel, some dried fruit, figs, peat, whisky, some wood. Warming, but alcohol is not overpowering. Sweetish.

Dark barleywine (if that is even a thing to begin with) boiled for an extremely long time and aged in Islay whisky barrels, resulting in an ultra-strong beer of no less than 18% ABV. No head (indeed bottled without any carbonation at all), misty dark chestnut brown robe with ruddy glow. Extremely peaty aroma, perhaps the most peaty aroma ever in any beer, ‘clinical’ iodine and whole bags of actual peat, strongly peated whisky, cured meat, roasted walnuts, soy sayce, bayleaf, dried fig, wet clay, wet leather, old ground hazelnuts. Sweetish onset with dried fig and medlar aspects, strong soy sauce-like umami and lots of Maillard effects, flat so not carbonated at all, very thick mouthfeel, big slabs of walnutty, brown-bread-crusty malts with only light toasted bitterness (otherwise this sure would have been a porter or stout rather than a barleywine) under heavy loads of peat in a very overpowering way, heated by evidently very whisky-like alcohol – but somehow still a bit less boozy (and therefore more easily drinkable) than the huge ABV would suggest. Definitely not one for the faint-hearted, this peat monster is Reservoir Dogs’ way of rolling their muscles, I suppose – not to be consumed by those looking for finesse and elegance, and certainly not by those who are not into peat. I like peat, though it has admittedly been a long learning process, and I can take a small glass of this – but be warned, this is peat and booze driven to its extreme within the boundaries of beer.

Sample (thanks fonefan!). Copper colour, small off-white head. Aroma is peated malts, some fruits, alcohol and mild toffee. Flavour is peated malts, some fruits, alcohol, toasted and smoked wet wooden elements. Quite burning alcohol both while drinking and in the aftertaste.

Bottle shared with Hrabren and Ogi. Brownish body, hazy, pretty much no head. Huge aroma, enormous peat, minerally, meaty, bacon. Initially not too appealing on me, but made more and more sense as it warmed. Still not my favorite profile, but I respect it a fair bit. Sweetish lean taste, peat, earthy, carroty, smokey, hiding the 18% alcohol. Enormous and definitely a grower. Respect for that!

0.5 l bottle thanks to Ogi who shared it with Marko and myself. Hazy amber, oily, minimal head. Intense peat smoke at first giving away to nice dried fruit and red fruit. Good balance, some caramel, some toast, some oak. Some spice, some alcohol. Oily, heavy, oak and peat smoke dominating the palate. Seriously strong, a sipper, warming. Medium body. Oily texture. Lasting smokey finish.

Tap.Black colour with no head.Aroma of bourbon and vanilla,nice warming with good warning mouth feels,sweet with hint of dark dried fruit,nice well balanced finish.

Bottle 500ml. @ [ Last Højbjerg Tasting in Højbjerg 🇩🇰 ] - Saxo House - Højbjerg.

[ As Reservoir Dogs Spirit of Islay - 2020 ].
ABV: 18.0%. Clear medium to dark red brown colour with virtually no head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, sweet malt, dried fruit, peat, wood, smoked, alcohol - whisky. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet with a long duration, dried fruit, sweet malt, caramel, peat - islay, medium dry, rich, malty. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat, finish feel is warming and light alcoholic. [20210605]
8-2-8-4-15