Harviestoun Ola Dubh (12 Year Old)

I wish I’d known that there was a 30 year when I found the 12 and 16 year. Oh, well. It’ll have to be tasted another time, if at all. This is a pretty well-done whisky-barrel-aged beer. The beer itself is fairly light in body (for its size) and lacking the aggressive flavor of it’s American counterparts, it could have easily been overwhelmed by the whisky. As it is, there’s a definite, but reserve note of alcohol, a bit of char and vanilla. A little cocoa underneath that.

Pours deep black into a snifter. Offwhite head recedes to hug rim leaving no lacing. Sweet smoke and dark caramel aromas. Slick engine oil upfront with a lasting peaty espresso finish.

Bottle @ Vinordic 080426. Pours jet black and oily. In your face smokiness from the whisky and a lingering burnt licorice malt background. You can definately recognize the Highland Park on the heathery, salt smokiness. Some dried friuts and bitter orange marmalade is there. Thick mouthfeel, quite like it’s name - old engine oil. Not quite homogenous mix of stout and whisky, the beer comes through a bit too burnt and viscuous. Interesting though.

Bottle courtesy of goryshkewych: Poured a pitch-black color ale with a medium foamy brown head with good retention retention. Aroma of chocolate with roasted malt is easily identifiable. The roasted malt with some medium notes of chocolate and coffee also dominates taste. Nice creamy body with some good carbonation and no alcohol was discernable. I can’t say that I distinguished a lot of differences form the regular version and likely would stick to that one considering the difference in prices.

Bottle (number 08531). Ruby-black beer with a slight brown head. Big peat, light roast, and oak aroma.Rich caramel, peat, and light roast flavor. Medium bodied. Nice complexity. Barrel aging not too strong. Very drinkable. Stronger, slightly more harsh peat/roast components than the 16.

12 ounce bottle (06358 09/07) purchased from the Davis Food Co-Op. Single blind tasting side by side with the Ola Dubh 16 year. Sweeter, smoother, with more caramel notes present in the aroma than the 16 year. Still has some leathery, tobacco notes and less booziness than the 16 year. More quaffable. Moderately transparent mahogany body with a light tan head that disspates quicker than the 16 year. Nice legs and slightly more transparent than the 16. Tastes rather similar to the 16, but this has more caramel sweetness in the middle. Not as dry in the finish as the 16 is, which is a good thing. Still has some peatiness and malty flavors accentuated by the oak flavors. Finishes with lots of cigar smokiness. More drinkable, and not as boozy as the 16.

This black ale poured with a thin beige head. There is a nice malt flavor with a lot of coffee and chocolate and distinct whiskey undertones. Very pleasant.

Dark brown with a smaller beige head. Aroma is woody and sweet. Plenty of bourbon notes with a little bit of earthiness. The smoke flavor seems to blend well with the sweetness of the bourbon and maltiness. Nice creamy texture.