8

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

Can - I will admit that I was a little skeptical about this one, but you don't see a lot of barleywine these days, and at 17 bucks for 4 pints, I was definitely intrigued enough to bite the bullet - overall, it's far more impressive than I anticipated - a lot of classic barleywine character present, with caramelized maltiness pretty forward, as well as some bright fruitiness - a lot of the botanicals from the gin present through the middle, leading to a moderately spicy and bitter finish, both from hops and from the herbs present in the gin - malt sweetness returns through the finish, with lingering spice herbaceous character, as well - a really nice balance of malt sweetness and dry herbal character, overall coming together far better than it seems to have any right to, but there it is.