J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Lagavulin)

Bottle. Lots of earthy malt and scotch, chocolate, peaty smoke, and wood in the nose. Some peary sweetness and alcohol. Dark amber body with a quick light brown head. Cloying sticky smoked malt, full body but way too syrupy. And far too medicinal a sipper. Aftertaste is dry and smoky, clearly the best part of this experience, but the uncontrollable cloy is right up there with some of DHF’s sweetest seasonals.

Orange Brown in color, little head. Strong, sweet whiskey qualities. Very strong alcohol. Rather thick. Not bad, but not something to drink all the time.

From bottle. Pours an orange/brown with thin tan head. Nose has rising dough, peaty whiskey. Flavor is sweet, thick malts, backed by more of the whiskey notes. Palate is thick and chewy. Nicely done.

2004 bottle. Dark orangish copper pour with no head. Deep rich malt, prunes, whiskey, and smoked peat. Dominating peat smoke and whiskey with sticky sweet dates and prunes. Thick syrupy mouth feel. I love a good sweet malty english barley wine, but I’m finding this to be a bit too much.

Almost no head, opaque amber pour. Aroma of sweet whiskey. Very light carbonation. Tastes much like a tawney port. Just not all that enjoyable to me.

2004 Bottle. Deep copper under a thin tan head that settles to a thin ring quickly. The burned peat aroma is distinctive and dominant over more subtle aromas of caramel and dark fruit. Rich, thick and syrupy on the palate, not unlike a well aged port. Flavor of burnt caramel with a smoky, earthy character and just the faintest hint of some bitter spice. Complexity increases as it warms to room temperature. Long, sweet finish. A slow sipping gem for a cold evening by the fire.

2004. burnt caramel and wood aroma. dark brown /caramel colored with no head. syrupy thick pour. rich, smokey, burnt marshmallow flavors. full bodied with a thick, almost gel-like, palate. the body is a little too thick but the flavors are outstanding. this is excellent.

Bottle. 2004 vintage. Deep ruby with small head. Smoky aroma as anticipated. Flavor is very (too) sweet and smoky.