Harviestoun Ola Dubh (30 Year Old)

bottle thanks to bu11zeye. black with no head. awesome smell of smoke, scotch, vanilla and toffee. great thickness and a smooth toffee flavor with some roasted malts in the finish. much fuller bodied than the 12 and the 16.

not a fan of scotch, but this brew was great. aroma was scotch, which isnt a bad scent. flavor was smooth, but was enjoyable. If scotch tasted this way, i would drink it all the time. Great beer

Bottle from Stateline, #08171, 2007. Color was dark brown, thin head. The aroma was lots of vanilla on opening, some whiskey with whiskey. Flavor followed the aroma, vanilla, oak, whiskey, finishing each sip with some smoke. Pretty smooth, lots of overwhelming vanilla and whiskey notes, though, a little too much, yet decent. The mouthfeel was moderate and smooth, some grainy-silkiness.

Smells great, with a rich array of scotch and wood. the look is completely dark without transparent. taste doesn’t seem outstanding there with a bit of over carbonation for this type of beer.

The aroma is sweet and toasty with smokey scotch whisky dominating. I detect a hint of chocolate. The appearance is dark brown with a tan head. The flavor is like the aroma. The palate is smooth. I am surprised that a 30 year old beer tastes like it was made yesterday. I like the infusion but I am not very impressed with it.

(Bottle 33 cl) Pours a very dark brown - close to black - with a vague tint of red and a small off-white head. Fairly burned malty aroma with some wooden accents. Medium body, low in carbonation, some hard roasted malts and distinctly smoked whisky notes. Subdued bitterness. 120908

This was such a special beer that it aches me that it is so expensive. Shared with my friend Tom and we are racking our brains to find something else close, something more available and reasonably priced. This had a lot of the great flavor, like drinking a great imperial stout, but in a lighter, more drinkable presentation. Burnt wood, coffee, chocolate and of course whiskey in the nose, on the tongue, and through the throat. I am on a mission to find something similar.

Thanks to lithy for the bottle!
Dark brown, creamy tannish-white head, more than the 16 yr. Not quite as oily looking. Nose still has the chocolate and vanilla, but the whisky barrel plays a larger role here than the 16: far more wood and alcohol are detected, less peat and more iodine. The flavor suffers the most, alcohol bludgeoning out so many of balanced whisky and base flavors. The palate is also a little rougher, not as rich yet smooth as the 16. So while it’s still very good, the 16 steps all over it.