Ola Dubh - 18 Year Old Special Reserve
Harviestoun in Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland 🏴
Traditional Ale - Old Ale Regular|
Score
7.76
|
|
Ola Dubh 18yr tasting notes: Ola Dubh 18 has aromas of espresso and caramel. The initial whisky hit makes way for more delicate notes of dark chocolate, tangy oak and dried fruit to shine through. The smooth and silky mouth feel and flavours of wood and smoke lead to a long warming finish.
Hops: East Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Galena
Malts: Lager Malt, Pinhead Oats, Roast Barley
Nice carbonation, bold cask flavor with a slight anise-y finish. Bottle no. 22084
Straight peat. Medium body, definitely richer than most porters. Super smoky and woody, rich malty cocoa notes from the beer. Dry finish. Love the babby cans
Bottle 08122, Feb. 2017. Pours black, tiny bit of light head. Smells very whisky-like, coffee. Mouthfeel is rather light, compared to more modern stuff, but not disturbing. Taste is nicely subtly whisky first, plenty of roast, coffee. All nicely subtle.
Tydelig whiskykarakter. Bare nydelig.
Bottle number: 04011, BO 02/2016, BBE 02/2019, 3.5 years old vintage bottle;medium complex aroma of toasted sugars & loads of sharper dark
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
F: medium, tanned, not long lasting. C: black, opaque. A: rich dark malts, chocolate, plums, cocoa, bit vinous, bit smoked tones. T: dark malts, a lot of nice smoky tones, chocolate, cocoa, bit warming alcohol, earthy, bit ash, plums, caramel, dried fruits, medium to full body, light oily mouthfeel, nice complex brew, fully enjoyed, 33cl bottle No. 20460 (bottled Aug 2017), from Cora in Brussels.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
20 December 2018. Bottle at Café Frappé, Maastricht. Shared with Anke. Bottle no. 01927; February 2015. Pours hazy jet black with a lasting, thin, unstable, dark beige head; little lacing. Strong & complex aroma of peat, charcoal, blackcurrant, oak, walnut, earth, dried prune, whisky, coffee bean, aniseed, fondant. Taste is medium malty sweet, quite nutty with (retronasal) fruitiness, as in blackcurrant, prune & some raisin, smoky notes bring peat & tar even but not in a disturbing manner; light roasted bitter then, coffee bean, oak & earthy note, faintly sour. Dryish, earthy hoppy finish, bit toasty, lingering dark fruits & smoke, some subtle warming whisky alcohol to top it off. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Rich in aroma & taste, yet delicate; could have been fuller.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
0.33 l bottle, a birthday gift from Višnja 666. Thank you. Shared with lovely Anja. Very dark brown to black, small tan head, quickly diminishing. Aroma is light whiskey, nice barrel presence, dried fruit, dark fruit, molasses, slightly roasty. No obvious chocolate flavours, moderate complexity. Flavours are roasty and fruity, a touch of whiskey. Sweet, although not too sweet. Soft texture, wouldn't exactly call it oily, nice drinkability, light finish. No strong alcohols. Good balance, not as complex.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Very nice iodine dark chocolate iodine toffee and cake. Light body. Nice stuff.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
0.33 l bottle from 'Ace Drinks', bottled in February 2015. Pitch black with a thin, frothy, almost stable, dark beige head. Sweetish-malty, slightly roasty and a little smoky aroma of dark chocolate, licorice, hazelnut, dark fruits and sweet whisky with a touch of peat. Quite sweet, malty, slightly roasty, a little smoky and a bit fruity taste of dark chocolate, licorice, hazelnut, vanilla, dark fruits, lots of whisky and notes of peat, followed by a medium long, moderately roasty-bitter, slightly earthy, a bit smoky finish. Medium body, smooth and minimally effervescent mouthfeel, almost flat. Very good again, pretty heavy on the whisky but not that peaty, extremely pleasant to drink, maybe a tad too sweet.