Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Special Reserve

Brewed by Harviestoun
Style: Old Ale
Alva, Central, Scotland

Pours black with mahogany tint around the edges. Very thin bubbly tan head that dissipates almost immediately leaving minimal lacing. Tough to get around the boozy whiskey smell of this one. There is definitely a toffee, chocolate smell along with the roasted malt aroma, but it really comes back to the whiskey for me. Big, nice, complex taste where the whiskey doesn’t dominate as much as the nose. Big roasted chocolate malt taste up front with some caramel and coffee in there as well. The whiskey is present throughout but isn’t overpowering. Creamy mouthfeel with very little carbonation and a nice malt whiskey burn. The whiskey is certainly present in this one so the drinkability isn’t extremely high. All in all, a decent representation of an old ale with a serious whiskey kick.

Sampled via Jonpol. THANKS!!! This beer exhibits a richer, darker, more complex flavor than Ola Dubh. I think some rate the Ola Dubh series higher based solely on the idea, rather than the flavor and added complexities. This might have also been sitting a while longer and the aging had done it well. Bitter chocolate, sweet vanilla, brown sugar, and barbeque smoke. Good.

1300th Rating. Wanted to open this for a while, and it was in the fridge and I needed something to mellow my brain. Pours black with a tan 1 finger head. Nose is sweet with hints of licorice and smoke, and vanilla. Taste is sweet, with hints of whiskey, oak, and an overall nice smokeness. This is a pretty solid beer.

Similar to original Old Engine Oil, but with addaed aroma and flavors, including vanilla, wood, and some fruitiness. Very nice.

bottle from Liquor Outlet. Dark brown with ruby highlights- quickly dissipating tan head. Aroma: chocolate, light whiskey, peat smoke, vanilla, and molasses. Taste is chocolate, dark fruits, and the whiskey and oak seem a bit harsher than the ol dubha series, but still prety nice. Some smoke, vanilla, and earth in the mid palate. Finishes with lingering earthy tobacco, oak, and touches of whiskey.

Pours a near obsidian black with minute tan head that remains as whispy patterns on the surface. A nose of maple-smoked wood, scotch alcohol, and bourbon sweetness. Relatively thin on the palate but smooth, with port-like dark fruits, vanilla smokiness, and a cilantro herb finish. Warming yet drinkable, and more complex than the regular engine oil.

’02 Pours a brown color with no head. Aroma is malty, caramel, bourbon, oak, vanilla, and alcohol. Flavor is malty, caramel, chocolate, bourbon, oak, and a thin alcohol finish.

Black pour, medium beige head. Aroma is chcocolate and a touch of booze. Flavor is chocolate, a touch of espresso and almost a creamy hint of vanilla with very slight amount of whiskey. Oak flavors come out in the aftertaste and even a hint of smoke is there. Slightly sweet caramel and sugary throughout, but mainly chocolate and oak. The version blows the regular away bar none. Very creamy mouthfeel and pretty thick and cloying.