Traquair The Lairds Liquor

Brewed by Traquair
Style: Old Ale
Innerleithen, Borders, Scotland

33 cl bottle, Fargo, ND, USA via Winnipeg. Deep rose tinged amber colour; coffee, sambuca and oak aroma. Sweet taste with a liquorish bite and woody finish.

A - Roasted malt, but very light A - Dark amber F - Bitter and a touch sweet P - Smooth O - Decent, but not memorable.

Bottled sample. Dark redish brown in colour with moderate carbonation. Aromas of milk chocolate, mild roast coffee, vanilla, and cherry. Cereal grains and chocolate dominate the palate, along with some earth and mild spice notes and a bit off toffee sweetness on the finish. A bit thinner than expected, but fairly complex. Not bad at all.

Bottle from Phoenix fine Drinks, Gloucester. Dark copper in colour, with a decent, off-white head and slight carbonation. Aroma of caramel, liquorice and a touch of roasted malts. Full mouth feel, with flavours of doughy malts, chocolate and earthy spices. The finish was dry with plenty of liquorice in the after taste. Very enjoyable.

Gently vineous, raisiny nose. Pours deep brown with a quickly dissipating head. Flavour is burnt caramel with some licorice and tobacco and a hint of toasted muesli. Finishes well with the sweet, dark malt lingering longest. Quite pleasant.

Pouring me a one-fingered tan head, the colour was a dark, my word was it dark, clear copper and amber. The aroma was far more hopped than was the taste, as the taste was quite malted and sweet, with notes of coffee and some chocolate. Mouthfeel and aftertaste were quite agreeable. Surely this was the most unique scottish ale I’ve ever had, and I seemed to be other than an ale.

5/18/2009: The aroma of Traquair Laird’s Liquor is slightly dry and has roasted malts and is lightly nutty. Somehow it is not overly appealing. The beer is brown in color with a thin, off-white crown. The flavor is malty, yet dry and a little weak in the middle. The overall flavor is moderately dry and dusty with hints of smoke/char. The middle is a bit weak and then chewy liquorice definitely comes through in the finish. There is a decent depth of malt and the flavor gets sweeter as it warms wiht undertones of chocolate. some Brazil nut also then becomes evident in the finish. This medium-bodied beer is smoot and somewhat chewy at the same time. Overall, this is an interesting Scottish-style Old Ale that is very respectable.

11.2 fl. oz. bottle (6% Alc. Vol.) at the Winking Lizard Tavern in Columbus, Ohio. Rating #134 for this beer.

Poured out a large pillowy light brown crown on top of brown with dark red highlights. Excellent retention and pretty good ropy lacing. The somewhat mild aroma is of chocolate, butterscotch, roasted malts and dark but sweet fruit. I didn’t like the taste right off the bat as the smokiness hit hard, but that faded in strength and I began to enjoy the flavours more. Smoke, chocolate and molasses make up the majority of the flavour with a soft hoppy finish. Medium bodied. Quite creamy with a small ammount of carbonation, good malt middle and ends sort of earthy with a sllight burnt aftertaste. Interesting beer.