Medium brown, thin head. Touch of phenol on the nose with the sugary, figgy malts. Good malt body, the oak brings dryness and toastiness to the finish. Light fruitiness but that lends a pleasant accent to the rich malt. Solid scotch ale.

On tap at Pint Defiance, pours a deep dark mahogany brown / near-black with a small beige head. Aroma is surprisingly subtle for such a big beer, with smoky toasted malt, toasted caramel, and bready malt. Flavour is dry and malty, with lots of dry caramel, lightly smoky, toasted bread, and very subtle oak. Good malt bill, lightly smoked; barrel character is very subtle — I wouldn't have guessed it was barrel aged. Very good overall.