Dragon's Milk Reserve - Scotch Barrel-Aged With Marshmallow & Dark Chocolate
New Holland Brewing Company

Excellent head production; OK retention, with the dark foam inexorably fading to nothing but an oily sheen atop the cola-like body. Thinner appearance than I'd prefer in a double digit ABV stout.

Really a lovely aroma, the perfect meeting of all of this beer's influences: the base Dragon's Milk stout, roasty, creamy, and nutty; wonderfully warm but subdued notes of Scotch barrels, with just the barest hint of peat; vanilla and chocolate from the marshmallow and, well, chocolate. Red grapes, caramel, toast, banana, and molasses round out the profile.

Unsurprisingly, it's fairly thin on the palate for the style. The booze is apparent (but not obnoxious), but it really drinks with a relatively thin body more appropriate for a stout half its ABV. A fairly wet sip, but the barrel influence and ABV drive an evaporative finish, leaving a semi-dry, roasty, Scotchy aftertaste.

Taste follows the nose in character, if not quite in strength. The Scotch barrels are more readily apparent, right off the bat, but the peat is really restrained; even if smoky Scotch whisky isn't your thing, this should be very approachable. A little sweeter than the nose implies, but in a sugary, neutral way; I'm sure the marshmallow contributes some to this. The chocolate rounds out the overall profile in complementary fashion, but it doesn't really stand out, good or bad. Knowing the chocolate is there, you can pick it out, but one could just as easily never guess any chocolate was added if not told, as it tends to blend with the base beer's malt character.

One unavoidable positive here: I'm absolutely crushing through this beer. It's very, very drinkable, and while it doesn't necessarily stand out as a world beater, each sip is nonetheless very tasty, immediately inviting the next.

One of the better Reserve Series.

 

 

 

 

Look - nice black thick with a slight rim
Smell - Sweet chocoalte with a slight caramel
Taste - about the same as the smell, pretty sweet and a slight scotch taste
Feel - Medium full body wtih a light carb
Overall - pretty good but a little to sweet

A - Pours black with a one finger tan head. Good amount of soapy lacing,

S - Aroma is dark chocolate and marshmallow.

T - The taste is marshmallow, dark chocolate, vanila, caramel and a smokey scotch finish.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a crisp finish.

O - Nice Dragon’s Milk variant.

New Holland Dragon's Milk 2020 Reserve 2 - Scotch Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout With Marshmallow & Dark Chocolate, 11% ABV. Pours black with a one-finger light brown head that left slight lacing. Nose is light marshmallow and chocolate. Taste follows, slightly sweet, moderately bitter with some scotch burn. Decent mouthfeel if a bit over-carbonated, overall outstanding.

Not too sweet as description of ingredients would suggest! Creamy mouth feel. Alcohol well hidden. Great flavors.

 

 

 

Served in a snifter glass from the bottle.

Appearance: Thin brown tinted black body with a tan head rising just about half a finger's length off the body. Settles quick with even lacing.

Smell: Strong decadent aroma consisting of chocolate and light whiskey feel. Espresso beans meshed with a caramel note to the brew. In lust.

Taste: It's a touch sweet consisting of chocolate, marshmallow and light butterscotch feel. Whiskey is there but very mellow. It's good just a notch too sweet for me.

Mouth: Medium to full carbonation and a pretty sticky body. After-taste lingers which I am not complaining about.

Overall: Descent beer. Marshmallow is a touch light but still there. Needs no tweaking, just needs to be poured into a glass. Salud!

Black in color with minimal light penetration. There’s a fingernail of brown around the rim and covering half of the top. The aroma is an enticing blend of barley, marshmallow, and scotch. I’m tasting marshmallow, scotch, dark chocolate, and barley. The mouth is a bit thick and warm with alcohol.

From the tap in a snifter. Very dark thin head, light lacing. Smells of sugar, scotch, /booze, cocoa. Taste is quite similar to smell. Enjoyed this version of Dragon’s Milk. Great winter sipper.

 

 

 

Pitch black color with a creamy tan head. Great retention and lacing. Lots of big brown chunkies floating in it, though.

The aroma is largely prunes, with a hint of smoke and dark chocolate.

Upfront, you get the dominant prune note, raisin, and some smokiness. Must be from the scotch barrels. With hints of caramel in the undertow, this transitions to dark chocolate/chocolate syrup sweetness with hints of vanilla and marshmallow. A nice boozy warmth pervades, but does not overpower.

The mouthfeel is silky, oily, soft, and creamy--though not chewy or overly thick. Moderately carbonated.

Good. A good edition to the Dragon's Milk Reserve series. Tasty.