Orkney Dark Island Reserve

Brewed by Orkney (Sinclair Breweries)
Style: Barley Wine
Stromness, Scotland

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

750 ml swing top bottle. Pours black with medium tan head. Aromas of corn chips, dark chocolate, roasted malts and vanilla. Flavors of raisins, roasted malts, dark chocolate chips, nuts, and light smoke. Quite nice.

Been wanting this for years, come close a couple of times but there it sits in the cooler, a big thank you to Rick for the opportunity! .. . pours a deep purple brown .. mild foam .. . deep malt, plum, scotch, grain, and raisin liqueur .. . mild mouthfeel .. . very nice beer, quite complex .. . . I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly...

Black and flat. Nose is raisins, whiskey. Rich sweet but bitter and very strong. A nighttime sipper.

Bottle. Pours black with no head. Aroma is prunes, plum, malt, spice, earth, cherry and obvious whisky. Delightful aroma. Taste is cakey, dry fruits, spice, malt. Long alcohol warmth finish. Full bodied. Delightful drink.

Bottled April 3, 2012, poured Feb 1, 2013z Pours dark brown almost black. Big very light brown head. Very pretty. Aroma is sherry, peat whiskey, hints of chocolate, raisins, anise, licorice, and a bit of roasted grain and smoke. A lot going on here. Flavor of a nice scotch, took my breath away on the first sip. Really not expecting that. Not boozy but lots of peat and whiskey here with a warm finish. Only medium thickness on the palate. Lasting explosion of chocolate that leaves a bit of sweetness on the palate. Smokey oak with a red wine (merlot) quality about it. Very intense sipper, but surprisingly drinkable as the alcohol is not strong (though the scotch flavor certainly is). Something everyone should seek out. Awesome bottle and labeling, too. And I can recork this for later, which is nice.

Bottle shared by esp0r, september 29th 2012, as we celebrated 1000 ratings each with lots of good beer :) Black in appearance, with a low tanned head. Aroma of oak, sherry, chocolate, licorice candy. Complex malty taste with whisky and roast, coffee, dried fruit. Very nice really. Oak presence is strong, though not too heavy, which I appreciate.Warm bittery finish. This beer is a must taste!

750mL bottle, pours a deep dark mahogany with a medium, foamy tan head. Aroma of whiskey barrels, oak, dark fruits (plums, especially), brown sugar and caramel malts. Flavour is very complex, with whiskey barrels, oak, dry dark fruits, alcohol, and a slight medicinal / cough syrup quality at the end, but it’s not very pronounced. Very complex – dry and boozy, with the oak barrels leaving quite a bit at the end. A very slow sipper, but very enjoyable.

A black beer with an off-white head. The aroma has notes of malt, spices, caramel, and hops.

Black pour with no head. Sweet nose with layers of whiskey, dark fruits and oak. Med to full body with figs, caramel, whiskey and apples. Sweet finish with roasted malts and a warming whiskey note.

My highest rating to date. A glorious beer. This was bottled 13 months ago and is even better than it was a year ago. It pours sluggish its so full bodied. Jet black, brown on the pour and has a tan coloured head. Still well carbonated. The aroma of Christmas cake hit me as the swing top hissed. Sniffing the beer, its chocolatey, rich and telling me to drink it. The first taste is viscous, warm, rich and fruity and full of complexity. The whisky notes on this beer are as good if not better than ive tasted on any other. So definite but so discrete and balanced. There is a nice bitterness. This is Christmas pud in a glass, and full of cherry, dark chocolate and caramel. The flavour left in the mouth is rich, warm and lasting. An excellent beer and one Orkney should be proud of. This beer may seem pricey at circa £15 for 750ml (which is expensive) but when you consider £7 for 330ml it is good value compared to average beers ive had from other brewers, Anarchist/alchemist being most notable. This is a yearly treat and one i hope continues. Glorious!