American style barleywine from a craft brewery in Illinois, from a 65 cl bomber of half a year old. Creamy, moussy, eggshell-white, more or less stable head with slowly dissipating middle, hazy coppery bronze colour with amber hue. Aroma of bread crust, dried orange peel, marmelade, honey liqueur, candied peach, cognac, apricot, white pepper, bourbon, strawberry, peanuts. Sweet onset, marmelade and candied fig, yellow raisins, sourish citrus peel-ish undercurrent, softish carbo, oily and sufficiently vinous mouthfeel, resinous. Bready malt body with ongoing candied orange element, pumpernickel bread, honeyish residual sweetness; resiny, fruity, hop bitter finish, dried mango, orange peel again, lot of warming bourbon-like alcohol, warming and perhaps a tad too boozy, but not overly wry. Very decent in its style, should be able to age well.

Bottle from a trade. Many thanks! Dark brown colour, beige foam. Sweet nose of vanilla, bourbon, sweet dried fruit, plums. Boozy and alcoholic but nice warming sipper.

Bottle received in trade. Many thanks Brandon, have always wanted to try this. 2017 vintage. Hazy amber pour with a small frothy khaki head. Intense bourbon nose with plenty of toffee, vanilla fudge, coconut & a hint of grassy hops. Sweet, bitter & malty taste. Soft, round & tiny astringent mouthfeel. Lovely balanced barrel aged barley wine. Not in any way vulgar and in every way just plain delicious. Wish I had another few bottles to age.

Intense bourbon nose with plenty of toffee, vanilla fudge, coconut & a hint of grass. Sweet, bitter & malty taste.

Blind rating thanks to Brad as bottle was wrapped in foil. Pours a cloudy brown with small beige head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is strong caramel, dark fruit, molasses, toffee, wood, bourbon. Medium mouth, similar flavors to nose, very boozy, held up well, shocked when I saw what the bottle was, thank you for this rare treat.

thnx to mlefevre ! epic trade !!! Pours dark brown , very small white foam . Smells sweet , barleywine , not too much of the barrel Taste is a very complex mixture of sweetness ( barleywine ) and oak , bourbon , very balanced . Nice ! but given its EXTREME status and being this expensive .... i dont know

19th July 2009
Light nose of woody bourbon. Cloudy dark brown beer. Palate is slightly soft. Rich malt with well integrated vanilla oak and smooth bourbon. Nothing dominates - nicely balanced. Finishes with a little more bourbon and some aniseed. Tasty, well joined up and moorish.

Rating number 6100. Bottle thanks to GRG1313. Pours with a small tan ring over a bright, but slightly hazed amber body. Aromas are pretty mellow, sweet and boozy with a ton of dark fruit esters (plum, figs, dates), raisins, maple, almond extract, vanillin and some coconut. Very mild alcohol. Flavors are a bit dry and thin for what I was expecting. Light barrel character, vanilla, coconut, maple, biscuity malt. Medium bodied, slightly thin with lower carbonation. Mild tannin. Quite tasty, but mellow at this point.

Bottle shared by me at Alan’s epic tasting. Pours dark mahogany toffee. Nose and taste of intense raisins, plums, wood barrel, dark caramel, butterscotch toffee and light vanilla. Extremely well crafted and delightfully complex.