Bottle. Rather clear deep amber to brown color with tiny off-white head. Aroma is vanilla, indeed a bit rum, but not much, a touch wood, caramel, toffee. Taste is toffee, bready, vanilla, a touch booze in the back. Silky mouthfeel with fine-bubbled carbonation. Quite good!

On tap at Brewhouse & Kitchen, Portsmouth. Pours clear dark copper with a beige head. Aroma: caramel, liquorice, prominent rum barrel. Taste: light to moderate sweet & light bitter, caramel, dried fruits, vanilla. Medium bodied, light carb, barrel heavy finish. Unbalanced, too much barrel

Bottle 33cl. Black with a medium creamy offwhite head. Aroma of sweet malt, wooden barrels and some dark fruit. Light bitter with a ok wooden barrels end.

330 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 3/30/2018. Pours fairly crystal clear dark ruby red, light copper/brown color with a 1 finger fairly dense and rocky cream colored head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, brown sugar, raisin, plum, fig, berries, red apple, rum, peppercorn, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, toasted oak, nuts, and brown bread; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready/light roasted malts, rum barrel, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop notes; with solid strength .Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, raisin, plum, fig, berries, red apple, rum, peppercorn, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, toasted oak, nuts, and brown bread; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, woody, grassy, roasted bitterness; and rum/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, raisin, plum, fig, berries, red apple, rum, peppercorn, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, toasted oak, nuts, brown bread, light chocolate/cocoa, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/light roasted malts, rum barrel, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness and rum/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and rum/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, fairly sticky/tannic, and lightly chalky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 6.8%. Overall this is a very nice rum barrel aged English strong ale. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/light roasted malts, rum barrel, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/spicy/tannic/drying finish. Well balanced English malts and fruity yeast; great rum barrel presence/integration, and balancing earthy hops. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example. Rum isn't overpowering or boozy, but there is definitely a lot of woody presence.

From a 330ml bottle on 10/11/2018. Pours a clear amber with a biggish head. Thee aroma features some stewed fruit and caramel. Starts malty and fruity - Christmas cake like with some spiciness, and a touh of rum booziness. Finishes with a mild, slightly sour bitterness. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Fairly flavoursome and quite interesting, but not really my thing.

33cl bottle.Poured cola brown color.Rum, toffee and caramel.House flavor, light wood, rum and toffee. Rum feels a bit glued on. Light bodied.

Over BBE 09/18;Solid & suprisingly complex aroma of toasted malts,sweet bread,touch of cherry jam,forest honey,dry fruit-fig & prune,spicy

Bottle 33 cl. Pours a clear, nutty brown with a lacing, off-white head. Nose is a little nutty, vaguely smoky. Rich, malty body, nuts and a hint of caramel, but nowhere near some of the worst, sticky Innis & Gunns. The rum barrel is just a very vague hint. 260918

Bottle. Clear copper with a small glow and a small carbonation. The barrel ageing makes this a slightly smoked brew with some notes of ham in its taste, however this is less obvious in its aroma where a dark malt hoppiness exists.