Quadruple Jeopardy!: What is Barrel Aged?
Double Tap Brewing

 

On draught at the brewery. I let it warm for about 15 minutes before reviewing. It's a very dark plum-mahogany color with a modest cap of ecru-colored foam and minimal lacing. The smell is enticing and offers oaky plum and black cherry with juniper and bourbon. This is a beer which needs to be savored and sipped slowly to experience the taste which changes with time and temperature. It's oaky and barrel-forward but the barrel influence is itself nuanced. There are juniper notes from the gin but also soft bourbon from the barrel in which the Tom Cat Gin rested. As it warms there is candied plum, clove, and other Belgian-style spicing. It has excellent depth of flavor but only if sipped slowly. The mouth feel is appropriate: slightly syrupy with moderate carbonation. And you can feel the 12.7% ABV. This is an ale to enjoy slowly - sip by sip. Overall, I give style points to Double Tap for brewing this ale - a true labor of love. It's a hallmark of this brewery, which is really hitting its stride.