Bourbon Barrel Naja
Jackie O's Brewpub

Appearance – The pour was a murky black color.

Smell – This is a cinnamon bomb!

Taste – In beer form, this is the cinnamon challenge. As the beer warms, the potency of the cinnamon seems to mellow. The burn of the cinnamon lingers. The bourbon is light which is a little disappointing. The cinnamon seems to be drier in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel – I expected thicker. The cinnamon sticks regardless.

Overall – The reviews are polarizing, and even I can’t decide how much I like this one. I am warming to it.

Pour is black with a tan head. Nose is overly sweet, the cinnamon mixed with the barrel gives it an odd aroma, kevin called it toothpaste and that probably accurate. Some malt aromas, woody, light booziness. Flavor is thin, the spices make it really odd, the beer is incredibly sweet, the barrel adds little, syrupy feel, just not good.

 

 

Pours a solid black with a thin brown head. The nose has cinnamon, black licorice, touches of bourbon and dark roasted malts. The taste follows suit with good sweet and roasted malts, bourbon, oak and a nice cinnamon and pepper presence. The star anise is very present here, and when fresh it is actually off-putting (I'm not a fan of black licorice). Having this beer aged for about 16 months, this backs off a bit and it becomes much more tolerable and very enjoyable. Overall, it's a good beer that can definitely benefit from aging if you're not a fan of black licorice.