Grande Cuvée Porter Baltique - Fûts De Bourbon Et Brandy
Les Trois Mousquetaires

 

Look: It pours very dark brown with a tan head. Head retention is low.

Smell: It has aromas of toffee, licorice, and caramel. There are some molasses qualities to it with like prunes. In addition there is a light bourbon and brandy note.

Taste: It has a very rich maltiness to it that features strong toffee flavors with some licorice and caramel. The brandy is a bit stronger in the flavor than in the aroma with some prunes and dried cherries. The are light bourbon notes as well.

Feel: It has a thick body with strong but pleasant alcohol warming.

Overall, complex flavors and aromas make this a wonderful Baltic Porter.

Cellared bottle. Medium black appearance with brown edging. Roasted malt with brandy and bourbon booze, big rustic oak, raisin, prune, leather and cola. Taste is earthy and smoky up front, verging on peat, with bourbon and oak with char and leather make up the second wave, with a finishing wave of brandy, date, prune, big licorice, touches of vanilla and light herbs. Super complex and pleasant. Feel is medium bodied, smoky, decently shaped by the barrel, and smooth.

Annual classic

 

A corked brew from Quebec. Also using Quebec hops and malts, so a decidedly Canadian take on the Baltic porter. This can be aged up to five years, but I’m drinking it tonight! Dark reddish brown candy colored mostly opaque. Light head with aggressively popping bubbles that disappear within 15 seconds. Strong scent of raisin, date, cherry, wood, smoky leather. The scent of the alcohol burns the nose slightly. Taste follows the nose, with just enough sweetness to make this a thirst quenching beer. Malts, toffee, caramel, and bourbon have a presence as well. Mouthfeel is silky smooth and not overly thick, seems a bit thinner than a typical porter. Overall a pleasing experience, although nothing is particularly unique about the blend.

2014

2018 Edition - 10.5% ABV.
Pours a very dark brown with reddish highlights and a finger and a half of tan head.
Aroma strikes with notes of brandy soaked raisins, chocolate, molasses, hint of vanilla.
Taste follows with initial sweetness of molasses, dark fruit, chocolate, but at back of palate more vinous character with woody note, cherry tartness (mild, not at all sour)..
Medium mouthfeel - thinner than expected but not inappropriately - slight lingering bittersweetness Quality.

2015 Vintage
750ml cork and cage bottle poured into a snifter

A- huge pop of the cork pours a black beer with a one-finger creamy khaki head that has good retention long after the pour

S- classic smoky charred malt aromas of a baltic porter, immediately complimented by equal barrel notes of brandy and bourbon. Undertones of charred wood, dark chocolate, vinous red wine, dark cherries, brown sugar, vanilla, cherry pipe tobacco and wet oak

T- sweet chocolate and charred malt up front immediately give way to an array of dark fruity notes of stewed berries, black cherry and black currant. Vinous red wine notes mix with earthy barrel oak, as well as molasses and brown sugar. The finish gives more charred malt, as well as a big brandy and bourbon influence on the linger

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns into a slightly creamy, warming finish

O- the barrel influence is strong on both ends and mixes brilliantly with the base beer, fantastic baltic porter

 

Serving: Bottle
Bottled: 2017 (Consumed Dec-21-2019)

Pours pitch black with short-lived brown head. Meh retention; Meher lacing. Aroma is heavy on candied nuts, dark fruits, chocolate covered cherries, some brandy-like brightness. The flavor follows with sweet layers of roasty, fruity sweetness. Chocolate, toffee, prunes, berries, coffee, walnuts, burnt sugar. It is full bodied and rich with well-hidden alcohol and moderate carbonation.

This is a very nice beer that I have had many times but am surprised to notice that I have not reviewed it prior to this. It does seem to vary a little year to year and also develops nicely with time based on the three or so times I've vintages of it kegged.

This particular bottle was very nice. However, I feel like the flavor and feel were a little hollow and like the bright almost-Belgiany fruitiness (from the brandy barrels, I assume) that I associate with it was a little subdued. Could be the age, the year, me having an off day, etc. However, I tried a taster of this year's version out of a keg a couple months back and thought it was a sticky, oversweet/boozy mess. The point being, this is a big, complex beer that hits its stride in different ways at different times. This is an excellent beer and that fact that these subtleties come out over multiple years, servings, batches, etc. without it being a wholly different beer speaks to the quality of it in my mind. My score is mainly for this particular bottle, but my overall takes into account my general impressions over the years through the lens of this bottle. Well worth seeking out!

3.75...4.5...4.25...4...4.5

 

 

 

 

2014 vintage enjoyed from the bottle in 2019.
Very nice chocolate, vanilla, coconuts, nuts, dark fruits notes. Very balanced brew.
The mouthfeel is great

 

750 ml bottle into both a flute and a tulip snifter. No year on bottle, maybe 2017? Had 6/9/18.

Pours near black, opaque, with a one inch foamy head with decent retention and a good amount of soapy lacing. Aromas of bourbon, brandy, chocolate, oak, caramel, malt, raisins, toffee, some molasses, light tobacco and smoke, light vanilla, a bit of an herbal aroma. The taste is a little more focused- malt, chocolate, vanilla, figs, oak, some brandy and bourbon, raisins, caramel, light tobacco. Smooth, very creamy, a solid full body, well carbonated.

So complex, lots of layers of aromas and flavors. Has a terrific mouthfeel. The barrels are really somewhat subtle, but have a large impact throughout. This gets better as you work through the bottle. Really glad that I have one more bottle. So enjoyable.

 

Pours a very dark brown with a quarter inch tan head that settles to a long lasting ring but leaves very little lacing. Smells of bourbon, milk chocolate, oak, vanilla, smoke, toast and coffee. Tastes of semi-sweet chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak, light roast coffee, coconut, vanilla, dark cherries, figs, raisins, bread, caramel, smoke and just a hint of brandy. Full bodied, light carbonation, creamy and luscious mouth feel. Outstanding beer.

 

 

Trois Mousquetaires 'Grande Cuvee Porter Baltique'*Bourbon & Brandy* @ 10.0% , served from a corked caged 750 ml bottle 2017 special edition
A-pour is dark brown from the bottle to a near black in the glass with a small tan head leaving a streaky lace along the tulip
S-Bourbon & Brandy barrel aging
T-sweet caramel & cacao up front , a smooth bourbon brandy bite in the middle , with a oak & vanilla finish
MF-ok carbonation , definite full body
Ov-so smooth , great sipping beer
prost LampertLand

 

Dark brown color with light brown head. Aroma is boozy with the brandy being more prominent. Also chocolate and dark fruits. Taste is malty with bourbon and brandy notes, very well balanced, slightly bitter and roasty. Quite light body with low carbonation.

2017 vintage poured from fridge temp. Pours jet black with very little head. Nose is bourbon, toffee, dark fruit, maple, and a bit of smoke. Taste is out of this world. Tons of caramel, bourbon, brandy, vanilla, cherries, blackberries, brown sugar, maple, and a touch of smoke. Mouthfeel is super thick and creamy. Amazing beer!

750 ml caged and corked bottle. 2015.

It pours pitch black, fine head of tan foam, good lacing.

The smell...if that is any indicator of the taste, I'm in for a treat. Bourbon and Brandy gently caressing my nose buds, roasted malt, dark chocolate, vanilla, hint of coffee, dark pitted fruits, light on that but there. Sweet notes that are definitely not going to be cloying in the taste. A prediction.

Man the taste lives up to the smell and I was right aboot the sweet factor; mild and certainly NOT cloying.

Almost full bodied, lightly carbonated, the mouthfeel is a joy to experience.

Maybe my favourite new beer to me of the year. I'm so glad that this is in a large format bottle!!

Dark brown with an amber tinge when held to the light. Topped with a finger of deep beige, fast dissipating head.

Smells of brandy, sour funk, coffee, black liquorice, and lactobacillus.

The taste is sweet, no tartness as the nose had conveyed, so there is some funk but no sourness. Its rich of coffee, brandy, candy apple, dark chocolate and caramel.

Medium, smooth and rich body, with moderate carbonation.

Got in Quebec several months ago, drinking in Muskoka, April 23rd, 2018. Excellent brew!

 

750ml bottle poured into a snifter.

A: Black as night with a khaki-colored head that retains at a thin cap. A thin veil of lacing remains in its wake as the beer is consumed.

S: Layered chocolate: bitter dark chocolate, chocolate truffles, fudge sauce. Dark roast coffee and some smokiness. Bourbon ball candy, caramel. Deep vinous notes of brandy, black cherry and black currant. Tart cherry. Dusty oak. Only the faintest whiff of bourbon.

T: Big tart cherry flavor up front blankets everything. Some funk too. Underneath that, things more or less follow the nose. This tastes as though it's been infected with some unwanted bugs, and it's a damn shame. It's plain to see there is a fantastic, possibly world-beating beer here, but the infection derails it.

M: Medium-full body with awesome texture and smoothness. Decadent and creamy, like melted chocolate. Soft carbonation.

O: Damn, damn, damn. I had such high hopes for this one, but the infection ruined it. Barrel aged beers can be so high risk, high reward like that. Still, the impression I get is that, underneath the infection, this would have been a hell of a beer. I for sure will give this a second shot and will be on the lookout for more in the future.

On-tap at Mugs Alehouse, Brooklyn, NY

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a collar of off white bubbles around the edge fo the glass and a patch of bubbles on the surface. It later left a very narrow ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of chocolate malts and vanilla are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and has some additional hints of wood from the barrel aging. The vanilla really stands out in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has nearly a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer has a very nice balance between the porter and vanilla flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle into snifter, no vintage dating. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger fairly dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, coconut, toasted oak, bourbon, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coffee, smoke, nuts, molasses, raisin, cherry, plum, fig, herbal, tobacco, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon/brandy barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, coconut, toasted oak, bourbon, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coffee, smoke, nuts, molasses, raisin, cherry, plum, fig, herbal, tobacco, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Very mild herbal/roast bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, coconut, toasted oak, bourbon, dark/brown bread, nuts, light coffee/dark fruit, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon/brandy barrel flavors; with a nice roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, and velvety mouthfeel that is amazing. Minimal chalky roast, oak tannins, or dryness. Insanely clean lager finish, never yeasty. Minimal warming alcohol for 10.5%, with zero barrel booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is an amazing barrel aged Baltic porter! All around incredible complexity. robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon/brandy barrel flavors; very smooth, clean, and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. The brandy barrel doesn't seem as strong as the bourbon on this blend; but the overall barrel integration is absolutely perfect. Never boozy, tannic, or drying. Very rich English malt complexity; not overly roasty, zero char. The smoothness from added barrel silkiness is just insane. This is definitely the best Baltic Porter I have ever had. The style accuracy is completely unmatched with anything else I can recall. A highly amazing offering, and perfect style example.

 

2016 Batch.. infected and sour

Picked this up in Montreal three years ago. 2014 vintage.

A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a nice dark black hue with a big billowy mocha head that that fades to leave light lacing and thin wisps.

S - Aromas of nice roast malts, little dark chocolate, nice barrel notes. Solid lightly sweet brandy notes, light light barrel vanilla. No real vanilla.

T - Taste is similar to the nose, nice dark malts, solid chocolate. The barrel is light, nice faint smoke. Good light brandy but no bourbon.

M - Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated, little creamy.

O - Overall this was a very solid Baltic porter I just wish there was more barrels.

Serving Type: bottle

Spilt with rudzud, 2014 vintage
Huge pillowy fluffy head fades at a med pace big pot marks, thick lacing, pitch black

Nose big dark malts, cocoa, chocolate, biscuity cookie dough, baking spices, fudge, some vanilla barrel, mild bourbon flashes and even a touch of sweet brandy, fluffy nougat

Taste sweet chocolate sauce, cocoa, caramel, little baking spice and biscuity cookie dough, little vanilla barrel ice cream, just a touch of bourbon barrel but maybe no brandy, little caramel notes, vanilla cream

Mouth is med to heavier bod, little syrupy, decent carb

Overall better than most from this brewery but still leaves a lot to be desired.