Trois Pistoles
This one is black with deep chocolate brown highlights. A nice head forms and leaves a thin tan head liberally behind. Very complex aroma unlike anything I've smelled before. It's like a liquor, very much a whiskey alcohol smell with dark fruits, caramel, coffee, dark chocolate and toasted malts. There's also a touch of an herbal, grassy sort of earthiness. For something with such a high ABV, I'd expect the alcohol to be much more up front. It lurks and warms as you're sipping. Again, there's very much a whiskey element to this. There's a lot of dark fruits like cherry or plum, roasted malts, bittersweet cocoa, caramel and a biscuity note backed up by hops that leave a balancing bitterness that simply ties it all together. There's a very light spice that shows up more in the finish, which is also where I feel the alcohol the most. This one's dry and thick, almost chewy, with a big full body and moderate carbonation. This is like an expensive, very fine cigar. You don't chain smoke these things. Besides, you'd drop after a few. An exquisite brew.