Traquair Jacobite Ale

Traquair Jacobite Ale

The famous Bear Gates guarding the approach to Traquair House, near Pebbles, have been closed since 1745 - when the last person to pass through them was Bonnie Prince Charlie.Now, 250 years later, the ancient Traquair Brew House celebrates the Jacobite cause by producing this potent spiced ale to a traditional fine recipe. Sip slowly and remember the old toast to the "King O'er the Water."
3.9
1616 reviews
Innerleithen, Peebleshire, Scotland

Community reviews

3.4 Strong malty caramel and bready notes with chocolate and raisin Pours a very dark murky brown with small wispy light tan head Woody oak flavor with light chocolate bread Medium bodied with medium co2, lingering woody finish. Aroma more interesting than flavor. Easy to drink and enjoyable. Good rainy day brew.
3.8 Français: Olfactif dominé par la mélasse avec accents de fruits noirs et quelques épices. Un col de mousse moka s’attarde sur un liquide brun aux reflets rubis, plutôt limpide et avec une bonne effervescence. Mélasse et fruits noirs accaparent l’entrée de bouche, soutenu par un alcool épicé et enveloppant. Avec peu d’amertume, cette bière se concentre surtout dans les sucres de fruits noirs, soutenue par une effervescence vive, le tout dans un corps moyennement léger. English: Olfactive dominated by molasses with black fruit accents and some spices. A collar of mocha foam lingers on a brown liquid with ruby reflections, rather clear and with a good effervescence. Molasses and black fruits grab the mouth, supported by a spicy and enveloping alcohol. With little bitterness, this beer is concentrated mainly in black fruit sugars, supported by a lively effervescence, all in a moderately light body.
4.0 Mmmm malty! Sweet, bitter, heavy.
3.8 330ml bottle. Deep mahogany with a thick foamy beige head. Flavors are molasses, toffee, chocolate, dark fruits, licorice, spices and alcohol. Medium body, soft carbonation, smooth texture.
4.5 Robe noire profonde avec une fine mousse blanche Côté nez, nous côtoyons de fines senteurs de porto, de miel, d'acacia, de sureau, de chocolat et de réglisse L'attaque est légère telle un funambule, on sent des notes des pruneaux, d'épices, de réglisse, de noix et de caramel En bouche, c'est un pur régal, c'est fin, précis et onctueux en bouche, une excellente découverte !! Bravo !!
3.8 Donker bruine kleur, licht beige kraag die snel bijna helemaal verdwijnt. Neus: medium intens. Karamel, hop, daten. Vol, rond en medium zoet in de mond. Weinig carbonatie. Smaken van koffie, karamel en melkchocola. De afdronk is lang, licht bitter en doet met name aan koffie denken.
4.0 brune épaisse mais souple, une odeur qui me rappelle le pain noir de mon enfance. Très équilibrée, on sent la levure, le grain, le houblon, un peu d'acidité et les épices. Un peu chère mais vaut son prix.
4.0 Colore scuro, profumo di liquirizia e prugna. Sapore amarognolo, retrogusto di liquirizia. Buona birra.
4.8 0.33 bottle Reddish brown color with little brownish head. Really sweet with caramel/molasses taste. Thick consistency pretty and strong aroma.
3.5 33 cl fles. Roodbruin bier met crème kleurig schuim. Geur: stoffig, snoeperig, wat kers, aardbei, karamel. Smaak: licht zoet, wat kruiden, cola kruiden, kandij. Medium koolzuurprikkel.
3.4 Vino tinto, frutas maduras, maltas tostadas, un toque a barrica, azúcar moreno, requemado, como caramelo y algo de naranja.
4.2 Bottle 330ml (stored for approximately 2 years). Dark brown, nicely colored beige head. Excellent aroma of berries (cherries mostly), molasses and caramel. Sweet taste, heavy on the caramel. Milky thick texture withsoft carbonation. This is a great beer, especially after storing it for a while.
4.1 330ml bottle given as a birthday present from Derek & Tom - cheers lads! Sampled on the 13th March 2020. Pours a clear dark copper in colour with a thin dark buff head. Rich malty aroma with notes of prunes, old leather and treacle. Thin creamy mouthfeel and poor lacing. Dark malt complex delivers a rich robust Dundee cake base with syrupy figs, dates, blood orange and barley sugar twists evident. Little in the way of hop resins noted in the short aftertaste but there is a hint of nutmeg or mace noted in the spice flavour. Powerful malty finish with the signature Traquair Barley Wine flavour all apparent. Rich notes of dates & figs with blood orange adding a slight sweet citrus tang. Roast malt grain, old leather and burnt caramel add to the boozy mix. Fantastic Barley Wine and highly recommended.
3.7 Dark brown, almost black colour with a small head. Aroma: spices, malt, sweet dried fruit, some caramel, some floral notes. Taste: malt, yeast, brown sugar, caramel, some "julmust", spices, some floral notes, some oak, some dried fruits, nutmeg, plums.
3.5 Brown with just a film of a head. Malty smell with a strong molasses/raisins note and a little coffee. In taste whisky malts, alcohol and a little creamy coffee. Almost inexistent carbonation.
3.6 Bottle from Systembolaget. Pours a murky brown colour beer with a smal head. Malty with notes of chocolate, roasted malt and banana. Dry finish.
4.0 Misty reddish brown, small off-white head. Nose: dried fruit, candy, toffee, esters. Medium body. Taste: relatively dry, balanced. Candy, dry fruit, chocolate, hop. Light bitterness. Good.
5.0 Dark reddish brown colour with a tan head, fantastic aroma of coriander, caramel and plums, medium body, complex flavour of coriander, nutmeg, oak, plum, caramel, malty, smooth. Fantastic beer, easy to see why it's in the top beers in the world, luckily I live only 1 mile from the brewery 😁
4.3 Aroma is dark fruits, plums, raisins, with the aroma promising sweet malts. Appearance is a dark black-brown from the front, and a clear dark ruby with a back light. Topped with a 1/2 inch tan head with large bubbles, which fades quickly to a cap with a bubbly center island and a ring. Over time becoming just the ring. Then nothing. Sheets and strings of lacing as you drink that slip a down the side of the glass into the ring. Taste reflects the aroma: plums, raisins, a bit earthy, sweet caramel. A subdued bitterness is present in the middle, but has faded completely by the finish. The coriander is subtly present, as is the oak. The flavors play off of each other in a wonderful way, with the plums and caramel remaining on the tongue in the aftertaste. You notice the alcohol warmth, but only just. The finish is sweetish, but not overly so. Feel is mellow and smooth, with a moderate to thick body. Overall, a delicious Scotch Ale, with a superb complexity of flavors and very well balanced.
3.7 Bottle pour from Colonial Spirits, Acton. Appearance is clear dark brown (like root beer/cola), no sparkle, thin ring of beige head with fair retention and no lacing. Aroma is strong, rich brown bread. Taste is even stronger rich brown bread. Mouthfeel is medium side of light-to-medium bodied with smooth texture, soft carbonation and finish as taste. Overall, lacking in complexity but a good representative of the style and good strength.
3.4 500 ml bottle shared by tfontana, thanks Tom. Aroma is mild coriander, caramel, dark bread, toffee. Flavor is a direct reflection of the aroma. Ends on a slight earthy malt and mild spice. I appreciate this beer for what it is.
3.8 Aroma: caramel, toffee, raisin, subtle herb Appearance:clear brown color with a two-fingered tan head Taste: caramel, toffee, raisin, some herb, medium-high sweetness, medium-low bitterness Palate: medium-full body, medium-low carbonation, medium alcohol sensation, medium-low dryness Overall: It is malt-centric with some complementary dark fruit flavor and is similar to a lighter version of English barley wine. The alcohol sensation helps balance out the sweetness. The coriander can barely be found, maybe it presents as the weak herb flavor. Nice.
3.7 Pours clear dark mahogany with a two finger, light tan head. Aroma is dried fruit, roast and light toffee. Taste is toffee and raisin, moving to roast, nutmeg and allspice. Finish is toffee, nutmeg and roast.
3.4 Pours a clean deep brown with a thin off-white head that recedes quite quickly, leaving just the slightest hint of lacing. Reasonably intense aroma has a biscuity malt base, followed by dried fruit (especially plum), liquorice and spicy notes of mainly anise. Taste is quite complex. A solid malty base of mainly biscuit and slight caramel, liquorice, a bit of warming alcohol presence, dried fruit notes as per aroma though slightly subdued, anise. Overall sweet but not at all over the top. Finish is semi-sweet with a surpising note of coffee, while the aftertaste leaves a spicy reminiscence. Medium bodied (actually very light for the abv) with very light carbonation. The beer is overall very smooth and could go down quite quickly, which gets a bit in the way of its complex and slightly warming character. Feels like there's not enough body to match the beer character. The beer was overall interesting and i did enjoy it, my main concern was with the lack of body. May try again in the future to see if something was wrong with this bottle. Edit, november 2021: tried again. Impressions confirmed. A beer with character and depth, but with a strangely light body. Somehow doesn't feel "for me".
3.7 Traquair Jacobite Ale 8% Deep brown verging on black with a minimal head. A nice spicy coriander malty aroma.
3.8 Kolor burgundowo brązowy, klarowny. Piana beżowa, średnio wysoka o krótkim czasie redukcji. Aromat: przyjemna słodka słodowość, ciemne pieczywo, dalej lekka paloność, karmel i akcenty przyprawowo korzenne. Tłem są tutaj ciemne suszone owoce. W smaku na pierwszym planie suszone, ciemne owoce, karmel ze słodowością, a dalej ciemne pieczywo i delikatna przyprawowa nuta. Jest słodko ale w normie. Na dalekim finiszy ostra, nieco szorstka goryczka. Jej charakter kojarzyć się może z przypaloną skórką od chleba, jest lekko popiołowa. Dobrze ukryty alkohol. Wysycenie średnio wysokie, nie przeszkadza. Treściwość dość wysoka, dodatkowo, gładka, nieco tłusta faktura płynu zwiększa uczucie pełni. Aftertaste chlebowo śliwkowy, dość długi.
4.0 From Traquair Brewery, 330ml bottle. Had on holiday in Nov19 in Innerleithen. Another very nice ale from Traquair.
5.0 Wow! Really liked this one
3.5 Ar: Prune, raisin; oxidation; vinous. Ap: Amber-brown and murky, small light tan head with low retention, fading into a mostly finely bubbled ring with a few medium-small bubbles and a little wisp of cover. T: Sweet plum; candied orange; a bit of almond; toast and biscuit; bitterness is very low; a bit of warming alcohol; nougat; dark caramel and rum; finish is like fruitcake. M: Medium body with medium-low carbonation; finish is medium-dry. O: Very much an English old ale; nice mixture of fruit and spice; has an "aged" flavor, but comes across in a refined way.
3.4 Copenhagen 14/10 2019. 33 cl bottle from Voldby Købmandsgaard (Web-shop). Black label with the motif drawn in white. Guy with powder wig surrounded by thorny flowers. Pours unclear, dark Maroon with a small off-white head. Settles as thin patchy layer of foam unable to cover the surface of the beer. No Lacing. Aroma is fairly intense with light sweet fruitiness meeting some harsher saltiness with a touch of peat and Spice. Sweet caramel and berries. Liquorice, hints of anise. Light touch of smoke. Light carbonation. Slightly thick, oily, greasy texture. Flavor is lightly sweet followed by a stronger salty, bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter-ish with a herbal touch. Sweetish and salty finish. Nice and somewhat very Scottish ale.