In a change to the usual procedure, this post is about a beer from someone else's stash. I was given this bottle by Brendan yesterday in payment for some enjoyable consultancy work. Strictly speaking I haven't reviewed it before: the link above is to the original non-barrel version at 7.1% ABV, before it got 90 days in an Irish whiskey cask. I think I did taste this edition at some point, however, and wasn't terribly impressed.If that's the case then time has been good to it. There's a genuinely vinous richness, packed with plump juicy raisins and sweet plum. I got a layer of velvety chocolate too, more suited to a porter than a barley wine but inarguably delicious. The whiskey character, if there ever was one, has faded to almost nothing, just a slight note of oaky vanilla. A very mild beefy autolytic twang is the only sign of wear and tear, but it's so slight as to be all but imperceptible.
This isn't terribly complex, and I was expecting more going on, given the ageing, the strength and the extended cellaring, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's smooth, mellow and very tasty. Well worth a pop if you have one stashed.
