8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
500 ml bottle into snifter; no bottle dating, but probably from 2014. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger dense khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, peat smoke, vanilla, toffee, whiskey, toasted oak, and dark bread; with light notes of tobacco, leather, charcoal, raisin, licorice, molasses, nuttiness, and roast/toast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts and Scotch barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, peat smoke, vanilla, toffee, whiskey, toasted oak, and dark bread; with lighter notes of tobacco, leather, charcoal, raisin, licorice, molasses, nuttiness, and roast/toast/oak earthiness. Light roast/char bitterness and whiskey/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, peat smoke, vanilla, toffee, whiskey, toasted oak, dark bread, light licorice/molasses, and roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts and Scotch barrel flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and whiskey/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Slight dryness from roast bitterness and oak spice, lightly increasing through the glass. Mild carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety, and slightly grainy/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is awesome. Minimal warming alcohol with zero barrel booziness for 7.7%. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged smoked stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts and Scotch barrel flavors; very smooth and easy to drink. This has held up awesome with the age for the modest ABV. Perfectly balanced between smoked stout and Scotch barrel flavors; with an amazing rich/velvety mouthfeel. A highly enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Apr 2017
at 19:36