Drake's Barley Wine Brandy Barrel

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Finally get to try this thanks to madmitch76 for sending this tiny little nip bottle back across the pond. Pours murky muddy sludgy brown mahogany with micro thin head. The aroma offers up soft aged notes of molasses, a touch of sherry, earthiness, muted sweet brandy, smooth dank wet wood notes and booze at the end of the draw. The taste has a thin feel to it and delivers pleasing notes of earthy aged molasses and brown sugar followed by soft muted wood notes. This gets nectar sweet at times too with a hint of tart barrel thinly ringing the experience. Dynamite stuff.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Bottled (Thanks stoutlover 72!). Dark nutbrown colour, not much head. Alcohol, raisins, oak barrel and some vanilla in aroma. Flavour is raisins, malts, alcohol, spices and some slight notes of vanilla. All in a wellmixed balance. Burningly warming, still very pleasantly done.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Pours wtih a cloudy brown body topped by a thin head wtih no lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet and malty with heavy notes of vanilla and toffee. The flavor is slightly sweet and malty with notes of vanilla, caramel, and a touch of roastiness. Full bodied and dry yet smooth.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Picked up the little nipper bottle at Hollingshead Deli in Orange CA. Pours murky brown with a minimal head. The aroma has sherry, brown sugar and a few other things I can't pin, but it's great. The flavor is excellent, Nice and malty with an incredible smooth finish. This is deadly stuff at 14.7%. The alcohol is well hidden.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 9

A dark fruit and fig aroma. The aroma is a murky brown with no head. The flavor is quite sweet with a huge caramel and toffee presence. The alcohol is very much present with a rum type flavor. Not my kind of barleywine but still a great beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 10

Poured a murky brown color with a small light tan that left no lacing on the glass. Aroma of whisky, nuts, caramel malts, dried fruits, and smoke. Taste of more caramel malts, some toffee, dried fruits, a good amount of smoke, and alcohol in the finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

This barley wine pours a deep brown color from a 6oz bottle. No to very small head on this beer, what is there is tight and foamy. Aroma is brown sugar, brandy, oak and vanilla. This is a full-bodied, big and bold malty barley wine. Big flavors of brown sugar, caramel malts and vanilla or interspersed with brandy/bourbon and wood. There is very little carbonation in this beer. The 14.4% alcohol is very present, but its presence is more in the flavor and warming than any overt alcohol bite. DAMN this is smooth and mellow. Very big and complex, it should only get more complex and smother with some more aging. Very nice. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

How can words describe this? Let me try. Huge aroma of brandy and vanilla with hints of oak, sweet malt and some toffee. A soft mouthfeel gives way to a depth that is wonderfully intriguing and incredibly satisfying. The finish is warming, full and leaving you wanting more. An incredibly high ABV, you can't even tell. Thanks to aspidites for this one.