At first glance, decanted into a glass, this tar-black stout-like beer resembles a cola drink gone flat. On tasting, anyone expecting a cola drink would be deeply surprised, and probably disturbed. This was coffee and chocolate with a slightly bitter finish. Imagine an intense, concentrated Guinness drink, without the creamy top and with far more depth of flavour and intensity.
Having knocked Harviestoun a little for its bottled Bitter & Twisted, for not being sufficiently bitter nor twisted, I am happy to insist that its OEO tastes remarkably like an alcoholic impression of old engine oil. And that, believe it, is meant in an entirely complimentary way. I had the good fortune to be able to try it from the cask (at The Gunmakers - fast becoming my mid-week drinking hole of choice), and surprised myself by wanting to drink three pints of the stuff (4.5% abv). I followed that up a few weeks later with a bottle (pictured top), at 6% abv, which while not being quite as tasty as its cask relation, would still come high on my Amazon wishlist, should they decide to stock it.
Having knocked Harviestoun a little for its bottled Bitter & Twisted, for not being sufficiently bitter nor twisted, I am happy to insist that its OEO tastes remarkably like an alcoholic impression of old engine oil. And that, believe it, is meant in an entirely complimentary way. I had the good fortune to be able to try it from the cask (at The Gunmakers - fast becoming my mid-week drinking hole of choice), and surprised myself by wanting to drink three pints of the stuff (4.5% abv). I followed that up a few weeks later with a bottle (pictured top), at 6% abv, which while not being quite as tasty as its cask relation, would still come high on my Amazon wishlist, should they decide to stock it.
Quite randomly I put up a bit about Old Engine Oil on my blog earlier :)
ReplyDeleteYou should also keep an eye out for their Ola Dubh - Old Engine Oil (or something very like it) matured in whisky barrels. I don't think that the added expense of the older age barrel versions is quite worth it, but it's a good'un.
I keep hearing about Ola Dubh - believe it's matured in Highland Park casks? I'll have to sample a few bottles very soon in order to continue this important discussion.
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