Double Barrel Skeleton Key - Rum & Bourbon
Bellwoods Brewery

Pours a deep dark black/brown with no head and only the slightest of bubbly film on the surface. The beer pours thick and oily.

The aroma is strong and enticing. While there is a slight boozy quality to the nose, the spices really dominate. Cardamom, ginger and vanilla are the ones I can pick out most easily. There is some nutmeg/allspice in behind along with a milk chocolate quality that peaks through beer and there. The barrel is present but restrained. More rum than bourbon to me.

The spices also come through very nicely on the tongue and are well integrated. No one spice dominates, but all they seem to swirl together with every sip. The barrels are more present than on the nose and also work well together. Both rum and bourbon make an appearance, with rum taking a more assertive role.

The body is spot on. I’d worried on the pour that the beer might by syrupy, but not so. Nice full body, not too chewy, not too oily. Just right for what I like for the style. ABV is very well hidden.

This is a top tier spiced stout with great barrel notes. The add-junks are done with a steady hand, and don’t overpower the stout they are flavouring. Everything comes together nicely making this a very enjoyable sipper.

Poured at fridge temp. Pours jet black with a moderate amount of light brown head. The rum appears on the nose immediately. I don't think I've smelled such a rum-forward stout. This is followed by brown sugar, chocolate, clove oil, a touch of cinnamon, and some toffee. Smells like there is a lot of alcohol heat. Let's see how to translates to the taste!

The taste is incredible. Christmas fruit cake, rum, chocolate, maraschino cherries, toffee, molasses, and some bourbon. Nutmeg and vanilla come through. Wow. This is Christmas on steroids. Extremely flavorful. Intense and alcohol heat is definitely detectable.

Mouthfeel is fairly thick. Overall, a wonderful and very powerful stout.

Poured at 47 degrees into a tulip. This beer poured thick, thick, thick. Just really clear during the pour that this has some heft to it. Color is typical (very dark brown / black) with thin layer of tan colored head that receded to a thin ring. Plenty of legs on the side of the glass.

Aroma is sweet, rich and boozy. I'm getting much more of a rum vibe than a bourbon one on the nose, with vanilla the only one ingredient I can clearly pick up. Overall, this smells great.

Taste leads with vanilla, in a slightly imbalanced way. I really enjoy vanilla, so I'm cool with it, but it's just a touch heavy. Underneath that there are nice chocolate and sweet malt notes. Faint spices (ginger?). Nice barrel notes, again leaning more rum than bourbon.

As expected based on the pour, this is thick and chewy with a really pleasant warmth from the alcohol.

Overall, quite tasty.