“The beer that started it all. aged in Australian single malt whisky barrels for 1 year. 1 whole year of waiting, looking at barrels & being patient, knowing it’s worth the wait. A complex beer tasting of dark chocolate, coffee & whisky, all balanced by a soft bitterness & that superb barrel-aged flavour.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black with a short but finely beaded head which gradually retreats to the rim. Lovely cascading lace is strewn down the glass as we imbibe.

Aroma: We can actually smell this beast as it sits at least 30cm away from our nostrils. Good Lord! Once it’s right under them we get a real good idea of the whiskey component. On first impressions it’s spicy, a little fruity and grassy but the more we isolate it the more we pick up the deeper and more rounded chocolate and caramel. This works into the robust base Stout beautifully, accentuating the damp and hedonistic molasses and licorice. Wow.

Flavour: Very aggressive. The whiskey really comes through with intent. Probably a little too much for our liking to be quite honest. It seems like the base Stout is pretty husky and can handle the whiskey until the finish where it seems to check out early on and the whiskey takes hold again. Saying that the back palate is pretty well balanced so it kinda corrects itself… thankfully!

Mouthfeel: Dense, muscly, warming. Slightly abrasive. Medium-full body. The 10.5% ABV is slightly harsh.

Overall: It’s always going to be a little contrasting going from the typical whiskey/bourbon barrels used for Impy Stouts to something like this. As whiskey fans we’ve never added an Archie Rose dram to our collection so it’s unfamiliar territory. The whiskey is well integrated but is this particular whiskey right for the style? Still undecided. It certainly has very green and unique traits so it’s lucky it has a big Stout base to keep it in check.