Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

After a bad experience many months ago, I swore that I would never return to this place, but after seeing this beer listed on their website, I had to break my vow (I love rye barleywines!) - served in a small snifter at the brewpub - this beer pours a hazy dark red, with a small but lasting head - semi-sweet aroma, with fairly apparent amarillo hops, caramel, vanilla, even some bourbon and touches of oak, with warm alcohol underneath it all - the palate is creamy at first, but the body thins out pretty fast, and some faint notes of oxidation are noticeable (I guess that’s its age showing) - it is much more dry than the aroma suggests, with just a hint of sweetness (for the style, anyway) - the rye is pretty forward for it only being 20% - a bit of cherry and other slightly fruity characteristics through the middle - as the body starts to thin out, some vanilla settles in, and the hops make their presence known at around the same time that a spicy alcohol bite surfaces - as it warms, the alcohol takes over quite a bit in the finish - it’s a decent beer, but in hindsight, I probably should have kept my vow.