Rummin' With The Devil
Mash Cult

Belgian Strong Dark Ale aged in rum barrels. Poured from a waxed bottle into a Great Lakes snifter. The pour is very clear and red-mahogany in color with low carbonation with little head (I do not consider this a fault in barrel-aged beers). The nose is rich and complex. Dark fruit, freshly-baked cookies, rum, toasted oak, and fruit cake. It smells like a quad on steroids.

Full body with a firm feel, not a trace of oxidation, and a sweet, but balanced flavor that follows the nose perfectly - a freaking quad on steroids. Toasted malt, toffee, lemon, rum, dark fruit, brown sugar, and ruby port (in that order). Warming alcohol on the finish adds richness to the flavor, but it's still hard to detect the 13+% ABV. Crazy drinkable.

Overall, a terrific beer that did not disappoint. I have only had one other barrel-aged Belgian dark ale to compare this to and that was Boulevard's Bourbon-Barrel Quad. This beer is light years ahead of that. The malt here is the real star and the rum barrel simply complements and enhances it without making the flavor too harsh. This beer is everything I hoped it would be. I have one more bottle and I can't wait to see how it develops with some age.