16.9 oz bottle, Tavour purchase. Decent clarity on the dark copper body with decent head, some lacing and retention. About expected at 9.5%.

Nose gives up plenty of the whisky barrel and some decent alcohol.

Mouthfeel is light, which I like since it adds to the drinkability. Nothing cloying or heavy in terms of the body. As it warms, things change. A bit deeper, a little heavier.

Plenty of barrel in the tastes, but it’s ‘tangy’ – quite sharp, a little citrusy and acidic. Not bad, but not quite what I was expecting. Some increased alcohol builds alongside a citrusy, marmalade orange element. I don’t feel as though I would necessarily recognize the base beer as a Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy, the beer just doesn’t have the mouthfeel presence to suggest that or any discernible richness, rather it continues on its fruit alcohol journey that’s a bit more reminiscent of a Belgian Quad without the Belgian yeast character. Yes, I know that sounds odd, but this beer is odd. It feels like it has some tannin notes (red wine) and also like an Old Fashioned or something similar. But if I wanted a cocktail, I’d have ordered a cocktail …

… I dunno, I guess at the end of the day I don’t hate it, which is always a worry with me and barrel based beers – so that’s good. It is quite clean, but also very booze based which in turn takes it away from ‘beer tasting’, i.e., malt, hops, water and yeast, to that spirit inspired drink that I don’t usually care for. If I want whisky, well, I’ll drink whisky. If you like barrel based beers you’ll likely enjoy it.