“High West Bourbon barrel aged Victory at Sea Dulce de Leche Imperial Porter. Brewed in New Zealand by Behemoth Brewing Co.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Glossy black pour and a thumb of light brown head perched on top. Steady reduction and a wet lace is dragged down the glass as we imbibe.

Aroma: Smells super sweet initially – vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, a hint of maple. Then the dark roasty malts enter the fray and bring light smoky notes, coffee and chocolate. The High West barrels are a little shy unfortunately. Prairie is one of our favourite Bourbons at the moment so it’s a shame not to get more oomph out of it. Nice wood character though.

Flavour: Picking up more of the Bourbon here which is great. The dominant sweetness on the nose is dialled back which allows the Bourbon/oak and roasted malts to shine. Kinda wishing that sweetness would come back coz it was damn delicious…not to mention that it’s all a little dry without it. There is a very subtle return of it in the finish but it’s mostly shadowed by the booze, roast and Bourbon.

Mouthfeel: Slick, somewhat oily and surprisingly lean for what it is. Medium body and a noticeable 12% ABV.

Overall: We won’t lie we were expecting a bit more from it. The aroma was superb but the flavour profile and texture left us wanting a little bit. Not bad though.