5 Seasons Bourbon Trail Scotch Ale

Pours a brown color with a tan head. Aroma is caramel, bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Flavor is oak, vanilla, bourbon, caramel, some toffee, and a warming alcoholic finish.

Name: Kilt Lifter on Oak and Whiskey
Date: January 18, 2009
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: muddy dark brown, frothy tan head
Aroma: sweet caramel and vanilla aroma, light oak and whiskey
Flavor: rich sweet malt flavor, lots of vanilla sweetness, touch of fruityness, wiskey is light and adds depth to the sweetness, second sample has more wiskey and thus more depth, plenty of oak adds an earthy bitterness, long bitter finish follows the oak

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Name: Kilt Lifter, BA
Date: March 04, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: clear dark amber, creamy tan head, lots of patterned lace
Aroma: big sweet bourbon and caramel aroma, vanilla adds a candy sweetness
Flavor: sweet bourbon and chocolate flavor, dark caramel and vanilla sweetness, bourbon is in good balance with the dark caramel of the base beer, light earthyness for balance
Overall: chocolate covered caramel candy with a chewy bourbon and vanilla center

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***4

On cask at atlanta cask ale festival. After having their kilt lifter the night before this was a much more drinkable and enjoyable experience. Oak aging imparts a balanced and not overpowering vanilla and whiskey aroma. A bit of a nutty, woody, oak flavor with some bourbon in there as well. Flavor is complex with some purple fruit, oak, vanilla, and wood.

Served up at 5 Seasons Prado alongside it’s non-oaked, non-bourbon brother for voting purposes to see which beer would head off to the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. Appearance: Clear, garnet-hued body topped with, oh, let’s say fifteen large bubbles. Smell: Toasty, caramel-coated malts and fruit blended seamlessly with a light oak and subdued bourbon character with complimentary though mild notes of vanilla and light brown sugar. Taste: Toasted maltiness with a hint of fresh grain and some sweet caramelized sugars. Light apricot fruitiness and, oddly enough, a touch of lychee. This quickly transitions into the dry oak character and punchy hop bitterness. Again, it’s fairly laid-back in terms of bourbon flavor, though, as it warms, more vanilla begins to come into view. Slight grassiness emerges on the dry finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Low carbonation. Sticky mouthfeel. Drinkability: Fairly satisfying and, thankfully, it’s not entirely overblown in terms of oak or bourbon.

Cask at the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. Pours a deep brown with hints of amber around the edges underneath a bubbly off-white head that dissipates immediately. The aroma is dominated by the bourbon up front and the caramel malts after the initial boozy whiff. The hops are evident in the nose as well with mostly earthy notes. The taste follows the aroma but seems to have a little less balance than the aroma with the bourbon really dominating and the malts not coming out as aggressively. There is also a noticeable hop bitterness which I think negates some of the sweet malt presence. Bitter and dry in the finish. The mouthfeel is definitely a little thin with minimal carbonation and very slick and boozy. The added hops take away from the overall experience for me as I think the underlying scotch ale would have been more enjoyable without the bitterness. Still pretty tasty.