Traquair Jacobite Ale

Pours a beautiful black color with froathy tan head that dissapates over time. Aroma is sweet caramel and dark fruits with some desert spirit alcohol presence. Reminds me of a rum filled chocolate candy in a way. Flavor exceptionally good. Medium mouthfeel, nice dark fruit flavors with mild coriander and spice, mild roasted malts. Can’t tell the 8% at all. One of the truely great beers.

11.2oz bottle. Deep brown-black color. Quite an interesting beer, a must try for one getting into the beer world. Rugged old brandy and other sweet alcohol aromas, that are hard to get past. Not unlike a Barleywine at first sip, but the coriander really balances the beer, giving it a nice sweet, drinkable character. With the taste and aroma, you know you are ingesting serious alcohol, but at 8%, you aren’t really quite as phased as would be expected. Quite enjoyable. Would love to sample fresh. Definitely mellows and becomes more enjoyable around 45-50% F. This is a beer that wouldn’t get it’s justified rating from just a sample. Great mellow sweet pecan malt finish.

Appearance: Pours a dark, chestnut brown body that picks up some reddish hints when held up to the light. Also, a thin, ivory-colored head! Smell: Dark malt aroma yields a scent of caramel and brown sugar alongside notes of plums and oven-toasted coriander seeds, which, being a popular gin ingredient rightly has me thinking of gin. Taste: Dark maltiness with tastes of dark brown sugar, maple syrup, and nuts. Pleasing, though never overwhelming sweetness. Faint dark fruitiness. Earthy, herbal coriander spice flavor, along with a mild bitterness and warming genever presence does a good job of tempering the malty sweetness. Leaves you with a lingering taste of pumpernickel bread. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-low carbonation. Slight stickiness to the mouthfeel. Drinkability: A fine spiced ale. Plenty of complexity as well as overall restraint and balance to deliver an interesting, tasty brew.

Lots of caramel in this one. Pours dark, nice aroma ... but ultimately not as satisfying to me as the Traquair House Ale. I’m willing to drink more, though, in the name of science.

Pours a murky, red brown with a medium khaki head that fades fast but rings the glass. Very spicy, caramel malt, and Belgian yeast bready aroma. Very sweet cherry, orange flavor for the start but then some dried spice flavors carry it over to a dry floral finish. Kind of tart and woody in a way too. Deep and revealing.