Country of Origin: United States
DISCLAIMER .... DRUNK AND ECSTATIC REVIEW.
Availability: Elusive at best. I was told, as late as yesterday afternoon, to kiss it off, since there is, presumably, no more available.
Price comparison: I've no idea. It was a gift.
Alcohol percentage by volume: I don't know what year this bottle is from. The stuff was 17½% when it was brewed.
Cute bottle/label? Cobalt blue glass, 8½ ounces. No label; gilt lettering applied directly to the bottle. And, a big plus: a cork that actually fits back into the open bottle.
Appearance: Thick, black, syrupy pour with no carbonation whatsoever.
Scent: I had heard that the older this triple bock gets, the more it smells like soy sauce, and I didn't believe it, but it's true. Well, actually, the impression I got was more that of teriyaki. Sweet, salty, some ginger. Weird. However, I tried it again, leaving it at room temperature for about ten minutes before pouring, and this time there was no scent of teriyaki whatsoever, only an interesting pop of brandy, coffee, and maple.
Flavor: Extremely sweet and thick. Not beerlike in any sense. It doesn't burn going down, but it warms when it lands. Oh, does it ever.
Impressions: This was a beer I've been curious about for quite a while. I had found out about it, completely by accident, and was intrigued by the concept of beer that had maple syrup in the mix and that was aged in barrels that had been salvaged from the Jack Daniels distillery. (The 17½% ABV caught my attention as well, I must admit.)
I want to weep with relief that this was so worth waiting for. It's never in a million years beer, I cannot stress that enough. This should be sampled for the experience more than for the flavor. If you want a nice refreshingly thirst-quenching beer, this ain't it, friend.
If you do manage to get your hands on some, hold onto it; it seems to age beautifully. Do not serve it ice cold; do not gulp it; do not drive drunk. I got the best flavor out of it by chilling it for two hours and letting it sit at room temperature for ten minutes, and I drank it out of an unchilled brandy snifter.
That having been said, the buzz and the bottle are what made this worth the wait for me.
Will I buy this beer again? I'll never find it again. But if I did, by some miracle, I would.
Rating:
5 out of 5 GOLD CHALICES
ADDENDUM -- THE DAY AFTER:
I need to stress, once again, not to buy this for the flavor. It really doesn't taste as good as the buzz. I still maintain that it was worth the chase, and I stick by my rating based on the alcohol, the fun of the hunt, the bottle, and the whole excitement factor, but on the "buy it again" question ... only as a collector's item, I think, unless I can find a younger vintage with a little more beerlikeness to it.
Reviewed: December 28, 2003
