“Nestled in the darkest part of the cave, you can finally rest. Here the fingers of the icy winds could not pick apart your clothes and race over your bare skin. You hear a strange whistling and almost in a trance you step forward. There is a presence in the cave that beckons, it tugs at your sanity.  As the uncontrollable shivering starts, you kick a bottle out of its hiding place. Was that there before? The bottle rolled about and came to a rest against your feet. The bottle’s label gives away no secrets. You crack the top off the bottle and inhale.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pours like engine oil. Blacker than midnight with a short brown head which fades rather quickly. It forms a collar with spotty lace as it ebbs.

Aroma: So, this purchase was solely on the fact that Deeds’ BA Stouts are the best in the country. Fun fact: both of us dislike jaffa (orange-flavoured chocolate) so this should be fun . And straight out of the blocks is a huge jaffa scent. It has this Cointreau-like note which is actually quite pleasant. Unfortunately the jaffa totally drowns out the Bourbon/oak and base Stout aromas.

Flavour: We were sincerely hoping that the orange component was toned down here but much to our dismay, it isn’t. The orange-infused chocolate flavours are pretty overcooked…we can’t taste much of the Bourbon, oak or the base Stout until later on in the piece when a hint of Bourbon spice and caramel come through and assist the jaffa-laden finish.

Mouthfeel: Thick and viscous but with a nice oiliness to smoothen it out. Low-ish Co2, full body. The 13.4% ABV is pretty well behaved for its size.

Overall: Not for us. We admitted we don’t like jaffa but that aside, we feel it was unbalanced and it drowned out the Bourbon and base Stout qualities. One for the jaffa lovers.