Enigma
Cartel Brewing & Blending

2025-03-21
12oz bottle, gold wax, served in a curvy Fremont glass. 2022 vintage, bottle number 255/300. Sent to me by @DIM in retaliatory action in Stout/Barleywine BIF #2.

Pours murky dark brown, small bone-white head that slows and settles to a ghostly ribbon and a fizzy ring. Ribbon has transformed into a pretty hummingbird shape. Smell is big, rich, dates and dark booze, toffee and root beer barrel, strong oaky / wet woods aroma. Earthy, nutty.

Taste is bark and earthy bitterness and wood, woody sweetness (seems contradictory, but there it is), burnt toffee and nut paper, something almost rye spicy about it.

Mouthfeel is thick, rich, yet also cottonmouth dry. This is a 14.7% beer that drinks like only 11.9%. Very good.

Thanks to Dan for this one! Poured at fridge temp but I let it warm up for about 15 minutes before trying. It pours a murky brown with minimal head. The nose is surprisingly subtle for a beer of this strength. Getting hints of toffee, brown sugar, and prunes. Not much barrel at this point.

The taste is wonderful. The rye barrel really punches here. Nice spice. Also getting notes of toffee, leather, oak, vanilla, brown sugar, plums, jam, and a touch of honey. It's tough to explain, but this is just so smooth. I wouldn't say it's sweet, and I wouldn't say it's bitter. It's right in the middle, and all of the flavors take their place and don't fight. Love it.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and the aftertaste is salted toffee and whiskey.

Murky reddish-brown with foam that disappeared quickly. Whiskey is prominent in the flavor; combined with the malt has an almost red wine taste. Malt sweetness became more prominent as it warmed. Some nice alcohol burn in the finish.

Somewhat cloudy, lots of charred brown sugar and whiskey in the nose. Taste is on the drier side with the abundant caramel blunted by tobacco-y tannins at the finish. Good stuff, glad I have a bottle to age.