Harviestoun Ola Dubh (30 Year Old)

My 1000th rating. 11.2 oz. brown bottle, comes in a special black box, with a metal seal around the neck. Bottle number 09563. Bottled Sept. 2007. Poured out an inky black color, with a 1/2" thick mocha colored head. Aromas are of whiskey barrel, Highland Scotch, vanilla, roasted espresso beans. Flavors are of Highland Scotch, oak barrel, roasted coffee beans, vanilla, burnt sugars, earthy hops. Thick mouthfeel, rich and chewy. Flavors linger on your tongue for a good long while after drinking it. Damn good beer by any standard. Good pick for my 1000th rating too.

Cask at Spuyten Duyvil. Snifter. Lightly smoaky, chocolate, cocoa, scotch aroma. Almost no barrel. Palate and flavor are thin. More whiskey here, but still not great. Little complexity. I wont be buying the other two.

Bottle (330ml). Shared by blankboy with me, garthicus and tupalev. Murky opaque ruby-black with a small frothy tan head. Aroma and taste - old ale burnt malt backing, really boozy, but this is mostly just senior citizen Islay (okay, orkney) scotch - peat, seaweed, iodine, hessian .... light, long finishing, slightly salty. Not much to say, just nicely done and well-balanced. I liked it. Thank you, Paul!

Blankboys bottle, thanks so much for sharing! Shared with Harry, Jeff and Paul. Bottle number: 03289. Appearance: Deep dark ruby brown, almost black, very small head. Aroma: Spice-whiskey, tanned leather. Burns the nose, lovely. Flavour: Smokey, burnt malt, alcohol, spice, Earthy and peaty. Very enjoyable. Thanks for sharing this gem Paul.

On tap at Newport Pizza and Ale, compliments of John Henry. Pours a nice rich syrupy ruby amber - brown with a nice velvety creamy head. Aroma is very rich and intense, but nothing is too overpowering or sharp- good subdued whiskey, light oakiness and vanilla, some hints of tar and leather with nice fruity esters and smooth sweet malts. Flavor is also lightly fruity with hintsof tar, tobacco, and nice single malt whiskey with an earthy cigar character but itwas smooth and refined. This was really good.

Bottle shared by Eric. Pours a dark brown body with a thin beige head. The aroma is like a thick slice of peat cut after a downpour; earthy and strong. The taste was not that balanced, but it was really well made and very nice. There was a smooth and enjoyable palate with strong wood and peat flavors, also some sweetness and a lightly toasted malt. I really respect what this company is doing with the traceable casks and this beer is really a well crafted work of art.

On tap at Ashley’s - Ann Arbor, MI. A lightly charred nose, backed with some peat alcohol and light chocolate. Pours a dark black mahogany with a tan fringe. Texture immediately develops as oily, backed with well-integrated Scotch alcohols and cherries. Oak comes out with charred inner-barrel. Malt characters seemed pushed to the back, but they work as a good palate for the barrel character, although some balance might be appreciated. There’s definitely some raw peat smoke notes in this beer. It’s got a good barrel flavor. I’m surprised I like the piquant touch of scotch in this beer, it works. A good barrel use. The sugars are chewy, granular and bit sweet, but needed to work with the barrel. Alcohol is not overwhelming, to my palate. Interesting.

Pours jet black with a beautiful brown, creamy head. Nose is an amazing scotch with caramel and a deep roasted malt, almost wood smell. Very smooth body. The oak and scotch over-lay the entire beer with the base being chocolate and thick roasted caramel malts. Age brings an extreme smoothness with no sharp flavors at all. Very warming with no hints of the 8% ABV.