Innis and Gunn Highland Cask
“Small but perfectly formed” is an epithet which could have been coined for this beer, another absolute gem from Scotland’s Innis and Gunn.The clue is in the name. Once brewed to a formidable 7.1 per cent ABV, the beer is matured in oak vats which were once used to mature Highland scotch. During the 18-year maturation, the wood takes on some of the complex peaty, smoky characteristics of the whisky – attributes which it now imparts back to this lovely rounded beer.
It pours an attractive ruby-brown colour and there some attractive Christmas cake notes to the aroma, which continue in a fulsome taste of raisins and marzipan, backed by this full-bodied draught of rich spirit flavour.
You can taste the oak, you can taste the whisky, and the slight oily sweetness of the texture gives a clue to its significant strength. The aftertaste is long, developing some interesting wheaty flavours as it dies away.
It is perhaps a blessing that Innis and Gunn decant their ales into 330cl bottles. Any more and this could be seriously addictive.
Star Ratings:
Presentation: 4
Aroma: 4
Taste: 5
Aftertaste: 4
(1: Poor, 2: Average, 3: Good, 4: Very Good, 5: Excellent)
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