Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Special Reserve
Pasteurised bottle. Export only for B. United International.
The regular Old Engine Oil has been filtered and pasteurised then left in single malt whiskey casks for six months. This allows the flavours of the beer to blend with the flavors of the whiskey.
The regular Old Engine Oil has been filtered and pasteurised then left in single malt whiskey casks for six months. This allows the flavours of the beer to blend with the flavors of the whiskey.
3.7
392 reviews
Alva, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Community reviews
12 ounce bottle that I have had laying around for a bit. Poured a deep black color with absolutely no head. The aroma consisted of bitter chocolate, light coffee, some bourbon, roasted malt and soy. The taste reminded me a bit of a stout... it had a light taste of soy, some chocolate and coffee, roasted malt, and a hint of whiskey. It had a medium bodied mouth feel. It had a pleasant aftertaste with a slight whiskey lingering. Overall, a very interesting, and tasty brew!
pours black with small head. aroma is roasted malts, chocolate, whiskey, toffee, oak, and molasses. drinks sweet and malty with some coffee, chocolate, vanilla, whiskey, and toffee. great brew
bottle at DLD 2009 ... At bloody last but i needed to goto the US for this Scottish beer ... deep black ... nice tan head ... deep roast ... little toffee nose... rich smooth roast malt ... little meaty ... little coffee and little vanilla ...
Pours near black, perhaps very very dark brown with brown head.
Nose has a clean, marshmallowy roastiness at first. Start to notice some baking chocolate too after a few whiffs. Dark fruits are also present.
On the palate is baker’s chocolate, spirity/alcohol, and a smooth dark chocolate finish. The dark chocolate comes across in a dry way - not very sweet.
Finish is a little chalky and alcoholic.
33cl bottle of unknown year from Beverage Castle (Tampa, FL). Pours a murky, used engine oil dark brown to black with one finger tannish head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of coffee, chocolate, bourbon, maple syrup, vanilla, wood, toffee, caramel, molasses, ripe dark fruit. Flavor is roasted and malty with notes of creamy vanilla, roasted and toasted malt, bourbon, wood, smoke, hints of toffee, brown sugar, and molasses. Generally medium to full body with a pleasing rich and malty finish.
i got a rock ... . pours a dark midnight black .. . low soy sauce and tar aromas .. . small head ring .. mallard .. . delicious stuff, amazing aged qualities without dust .. . great mouth, sweet tar players, with some bovril and smoke aura... good stuff!
Pitch black with a thick tan head. Aroma of smokey whiskey. Taste is slightly aged cardboard, dark roasty malt, vanilla, wood, chocolate, some sherry. Definitely a bit too old.
11.2 oz bottle. Black with a wispy tan head. Rich, malty nose, woody vanilla and roasty malt, dark molasses and whisky. Big sweet molasses flavors, roasty and peaty, a bit of earthiness and a hint of something tart. Chocolate flavors grow as it warms, and it seems to mellow out some, particularly the slight alcohol burn. Smooth, silky body that never seems too thick. Oddly, the finish is relatively clean, which surprised me a bit. Just a nice, warm, sweet smokiness. A winner!
A little fuller body and this beer would be really awesome. Pours like a thinner imperial stout, with an aroma of chocolate, malt, oak and a nice (but not overpowering) hint of whiskey. Flavor is more of the same but its nice because the whiskey flavor is subtle and does not over-do it. Kind of has a flat finish, but pretty good stuff.
Bottle. Dark brown. Aroma is chocolate, booze, peat, smoke, and some slight sour aromas too. Flavor is quite sour in a way with some booze, chocolate and some fruit. Mouthfeel is a bit thinner than I would like, but it is still very nice.
Pours a dark black brown color with a small light brown bubbly head that quickly shrinks . Nose is soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, oak, smoke and peat. Mouthfeel is very nice adn syrup like. Taste is booze, oak, charcoal, teriyaki rice. The alcohol taste is obvious but you do not feel the burn. Pretty good.
11.2 oz bottle, 2002 vintage. A vigorous pour yields a brief, sudsy tan head atop ebony. Nose is whiskey, molasses and chocolate cake. Smooth medium body, a tad flat. Taste is toffee and raisin getting woody with sherry. At 6 ABV this has held up pretty well but still feels faded.
Bottle. Pours a dark blackness with a brune head. Lightly vinous with notes of merlot, whiskey, chocolate, wood and dark fruit. A nice etoh warming. A very solid beer.
Bottle in generic goblet. Dark brown/black with lasting brown head and lace. Chocolate milk port and whiskey aroma. Bitter chocolate dark fruit earth wood and whiskey with bitter chocolate whiskey finish. Medium-full body and medium carbo. Wow! Complex and delicious. Really takes on the whiskey flavors without overwhelming the excellent roasted chocolate robust porter. Now to pair it with some dark chocolate.
Bottle. Pours like its name... dark, dark brown. Has a minimal film of tan bubbles on the surface and sports aromas that are slightly smokey, sweet and roasty. There is also a kind of damp earth/leather smell... First thoughts on flavor are that it comes awful close to being too sweet... near cloying brown sugar flavor mixes with some dark fruit and alcoholic warmth, while still having a bit of a smoke and chocolate edge to it - especially in the finish.
Bottle, 2002 vintage. Pours a dark brown with no real head, just some bubbles. Not as thick texture-wise as the regular version. Aroma strongly of alcohol, along with chocolate, molasses, and sweet malt. Flavor is quite different from the original version. No roasted notes at all, just lots of light fruitiness (apple), sweetness, and some almost tart-like sour notes similar to those from a Flanders sour. Not cloying though and the alcohol does not dominate but rather blends nicely with the malt (one of the best whiskey-aged beers I’ve had). Reserved in flavor, definitely not as "hot" as I had expected. The palate is smooth but wears a bit as you drink. This took me awhile to get through but it was still quite enjoyable. Is it better than Old Engine Oil? Well, it’s quite different and in my mind they were about the same in quality but had quite different flavor profiles.
Pours black with a ring of tan bubbles. Chocolate malt with peat, smoke, and creosote in the nose. Viscous, flat mouthfeel. More chocolate and peat in the taste, joined by smoked malt, some caramel, and vanilla. It was brought down a little by the soy and over-done molasses flavors. Still, a good beer.
Strong notes of roasted malts giving off bittersweet baking chocolate and burnt coffee aromas, along with some oak, smoke and peat. Jet black body and dark brown sugar head, coat of lacing and when swirled leaves strong legs and coats the glass with clingy sugars. Not overly sweet and not too cloying, but I expected some thicker creamier body, palate was a solid 4, but I reduced b/c of the peppery alchoholic bite, needs some more aging I presume. Good one on the whole, but give the nod to the regular OEO for smoother drinkability.
I love a goold old ale and was hoping the whiskey barrel aging wasn’t going to overpower the beer. It did at first but after the first few sips, it started to come into balance. Nice whiskey and chocolate aroma. Pour was a perfect deep near black with a one finger tan head. Taste was a strong mix of oak, whiskey and chocolate with a strongly bitter roasted malt aftertaste. Nice beer.
THOUGHTS: Hid alcohol well. More flavorful than normal Old Engine Oil. Not what I was expecting from being aged in whiskey barrels. Not as much whiskey as I would have thought. It more or less just changed Old Engine Oil. Much nicer than the regular OEO.
TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was opaque black in the glass with a light tan, almost non-existent head that left fair lacing. The aroma was moderate chocolate malt, smoke, soy sauce alcohol, whiskey and salt. The initial flavor was lightly sweet and salty; while the finish was moderate to heavily sweet, lightly bitter and more salty with an average to short duration. There was chocolate, whiskey, a little smoke and some salt. The medium to full body was watery at first and then syrupy with soft carbonation and a light alcoholic finish.
Bottle from Monument Liq, in Concord, CA. This brew poured almost black with almost no head. It smelled of coffee and bitter chocolate, but the overwhelming taste was of cigar tobacco and espresso. Excellent beer!
Bottle from Monument Liqour in Concord, CA. Poured a dark brown almost black with a very thin head. Smelled of coffee and roasted malts. Very roasted flavor with hints of chocolate. Overall in pretty good brew.
Bottle from 2006. Thanks to secret santa for this one (not sure if it was RB or BA). Dark brown pour with thick brown head and wonderful lacing. Vanilla roast on the nose. Well balanced and slightly complex flavors consisting of coffee, roast, chocolate, malts, an bourbon
2002 bottle. Pour is dark black with no head. Aroma is of pure whiskey with maybe a hint of malt hiding in the background. Flavor is a lot more complex. Whiskey has a strong presence in the beer but other flavors include a lot of burnt malt, some fruity notes, and a hint of chocolate. Nice brew. Would buy again to compare with the original.
Bottle from Apple Valley Liquor:
Pours very dark brown with a thin brown head.
Aroma is molasses, creamy coffee and smokey oak. Some thin vanilla and a sharp alc bitterness in the aroma that doesn’t appear in the flavour until the very end. Very strong molasses with the initial pour but fades quickly leaving the smokey oak in charge.
Definitely taste the whiskey. Creamy coffee again with a roasty malt backbone. A little thin in the finish but still quite good.
I like it.
Pours a deep, dark black chocolate colour with a full brown head- aromas of oak barrel, and a touch of whisky. Creamy taste on the palate, sweet and plenty of roasted malts and smokey character.
Dark brown in color with a roasty, smoky aroma somewhat reminiscent of Ten-Fidy. Flavor is smoky and dark with lots of roast and barrel flavors. Nice, but somewhat one dimensioinal - still a nice departure from the ordinary brew.
Bottle. Pours a midnight black, with a very small amount of brown foam. The aroma is smokey/sweet, with hints of sweetened coffee, dark molasses, and a bit of smoke. The flavor is a solid sweet maltiness, with a hint of toasted oak. It has a full, slick, oily mouthfeel. There is a bit of alcohol and oak to the finish. The year’s worth of time spent searching was worth it.
Pours nearly black with a darkish tan head. Aroma of whisky, molasses, and roast. Taste starts wout with dark sweet mailts that moves into a strong whisky finish. Nice beer, but whisy flavor dominates here. Thick mouthfeel with medium/low carbonation.
12oz. Bottle: Aroma of whiskey, malts, roasting, and wood. Poured black in color with a small, creamy, brown head that diminished. Opaque. Flavor is light to medium sweet. Tastes of whiskey, wood, chocolate, smoke, vanilla, malts, and coffee. Medium body. Oily texture. Soft to average carbonation. Sweet, roasted, whiskey finish.