We discovered this little beauty a few weeks ago in a farm shop near Huddersfield. Having sampled the Special Reserve 12 on draught and, dare we say, being less than impressed with it, we approached this with hopeful caution! We were to be pleasantly surprised!
The cap was popped and out poured a pitch black, viscous liquid with a lively, mocha coloured head that quickly dissipated.
The aroma instantly spills from the glass filling the room with raisins, vanilla, and cinder toffee which develop from the oak ageing. There are also dark fruity notes of plums and ripe cherries. Some notes of whisky come forward too, but this is not overpowering or unpleasant as found in some other beers of this style.
Initially the mouth was overwhelmingly coated with dark bitter chocolate but this was soon replaced with more raisins and vanilla, cherry and plums, and an almost clove-y smokiness. These flavours mixed and matched, changing with each sip. It is much more developed than the Special Reserve 12 that we had initially tried (that tasted a bit like a whisky and stout mixer!) and the older, more developed whisky had a more pleasant effect on the stout and filled our bellies with lovely higher alcohol warmness that made us wish we had a dog and an open fire. It would also be interesting to see how the flavours would develop when laid down for a couple of years.
Our first review, and our first recommendation!
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