J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Lagavulin)

2006 bottle thanks to mar. Hazy golden brown pour with a white head. Aroma of raisins, cherries, prunes, dark fruits, malts, bourbon and a hint of smoke, with some meat, bacon. Flavor: smoke yeast, nuts, balances nicely with some bourbon sweetness. Excellent syrupy dry mouthfeel.

2006 Bottle thanks to mar. Pours with a hazed amber body and a small white head that fades. Aroma is smokey and peaty with scotch and a nutty, caramel character. Taste is smoke, scotch, peat, caramel, toffee and raisin. Syrupy mouthfeel and creamy, light carbonation.

2005 bottle::: i love the jw lees!! .. pours a dark apple juice ,.. overipe apricot and caramel ... so sweet and dreamy soft .. . "i eat tacos and burritos" ... .wheres the abv? .. a wonderful beer, this barrel really works .. "i don’t know you do i?"...no you don’t...

Orange-amber in colour with a very thin white head, patchy lacing. The aroma is of alcohol, light smoke, woody, some apples, toffee. The flavour is of smoked malts, lightly warming, very light hop bite, lots of wood. Smoky mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes moderately bitter with a late alcohol kick.

Very smoky. Its holding up much better than the Calvados. I should have tried this one fresh, the smoke would have been unbelievable.

275ml bottle obtained in a trade with Dorwart, thanks Jason.
Opened on November 23, 2008.
Vintage 2003.

Bottle. Whoa. I love Lagavulin and was excited about trying this. Not disappointed. Pours copper with minimal head and lots of sediment (if I had expected that much, I would have been more careful pouring). After it settled for a while, it was more of a golden amber color. Amazing heavy aroma of Lagavulin, with a honey/molasses/toffee sweetness and some grain. Wow, this tastes good. I’m surprised how well the smoky peat flavors mesh with the sweet malts of the beer. Mouthfeel is nice and thick, and the whiskey shows up in the finish with a warming but not a burn.

Sampled form bottle. Pours orange with minimal head. Aroma of musky wood, straight-no-chaser whiskey, smoke, and overripe fruit. Flavor starts candy sweet, primarily of sugary orange and apricot. The barrel aging, however, really kicks in by the middle, producing musky, smokey qualities as well as a firm whisky essence. The result, bostered by the nose, is a bit odd, perceptually. An interesting drinking experience, not necessarily my favorite JW Lees aged ale.

Bottle, pours a dark copper gold color with sediment. Interesting aroma, almost of smoked citrus if there is such a thing. To me the aroma reminds me of a baseball glove. Taste, very interesting. It has a citrus sweetness to it that gives way to a smoked whiskey taste. I love these Harvest Ale series but prefer the other ones I have had so far.

2006 Bottle. Light copper orange-red with a very small ring of white bubbles. Oaky, pepper, some raisins, whiskey. The whiskey dominates with a slightly oxidized finish, some wood underneath.