Traquair The Lairds Liquor

Available filtered in bottles.

The Laird's Liquor is a rich dark ale with a hint of liquorice perfect for winter evenings.

3.4

171 reviews

Innerleithen, Peebleshire, Scotland

Community reviews

3.1 Bottle courtesy bu11zeye. Clear orangish red color with a slight bubbly head. Aroma is wood, a bit of hot pepper. Dusty and aged. Flavor is woody and old malts. Finishes a little old.

3.0 Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle. The beer pours an amber color with a white head. The aroma has the toffee and biscuit malt you expect in a Scottish Ale, but there is also a little bit of green pepper in the aroma. It is not smoke like you would get from peet, but rather the aroma of roasted peppers. The pepper is present in the flavor as well. In addition to the pepper I also get some toffee, yeast and a light peet presence. Everything works well except for the pepper notes which don’t jive with the other flavors. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. I think this could be a very good beer, but the pepper notes are keeping me from rating it higher.

3.0 Bottle - 330ml. Brown body with average carbonation and a thin off-white foamy head. Decent malty/hoppy aroma with grainy and brown sugar hints. Taste carries anise notes and ends with a dry malty finish. Ordinary.

3.5 Bottle from Peckhams. Dark brown colour, beige head. Aroma of roasted malts, earthy. Flavour is roasted malts, licorice, coffee, some fruits. Oily texture. Good stuff.

3.6 Pours dark brown thin head, great carbonation. aroma is rich and moalt with a little fruit to it. Flavour is great rich and malty notes of toffee, bread, and licorice. Body is a bit light making this beer very drinkable. Very nice.

3.3 Very thin smelling, just a hint of malts and alcohol, smells like it was ment for ’civilized discourse’. A bit of fruit and sweet bread in the nose. Not very heady or foamy, dark, but very clear and you can still see through it. It’s very faint, the flavour is very soft and hidden but it’s still there all the way. It IS very thin. Not gonna lie here, though that does lend the flavour more time on your tounge. This starts out very subtly but does get quite nice. Definatley worth getting.

3.2 Dark amber colour. Very thin head. Definite coffee and something a bit sweet. Decent beer.

3.4 Bottle shared by Tmoney99. Pours a clear brown color with a small beige head. The aroma is moderately roasted malts,some sweetness, earthy; the nose is not very big. The flavor is malty, hints of fruits, dry, very slight peat, and earthy. Medium bodied. Rating #145 for this beer.

4.6 Bottled. Brown pour, tan head. Sweet malt and licorice nose, vinous. Sweet malt, licorice, alcohol, and smoke flavor, with a nicely blanced finish.

3.3 330ml bottle, dark copper color, with a beige head, earthy peated, toasted, biscuity malt nose with a mild cookie dough, toffee accent, with some dark dried fruit notes in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a yeasty, sweet earthy toasted, caramelized, biscuity, faint roasted, peated malt, toffee character with some mild dark dried fruit flavours and a hint of black coffee, leading towards a malty, peatyish, fruity, toffee, lingering hint of roasty biterness finish.

3.0 Bottle, York Beer and Wine Shop. Dense red tinged brown pour with minimal head action. A rather sickly sweet affair with pronounced herbal and dark fruit. notes .Probably the least enjoyable offering from this mob.

4.1 AROMA: caramel, licorice, raisin APPEARANCE: frothy head dissappears quickly to a minimal head, red, clear, TASTE: light sweetness, lightly bitter, nice balance, bit of a wine taste PALATE: medium body, oily feel, average carbonation, moderately long finish OVERALL: a well-balanced beer with good flavours and aroma; not too heavy and has a number of high notes; a must try.

3.3 33 cl bottle, Fargo, ND, USA via Winnipeg. Deep rose tinged amber colour; coffee, sambuca and oak aroma. Sweet taste with a liquorish bite and woody finish.

3.0 A - Roasted sweet malt A - Dark amber with off white head F - Dry and bitter P - Soft carbonation with a somewhat watery feel O - Decent, but not memorable.

3.3 Bottled sample. Dark redish brown in colour with moderate carbonation. Aromas of milk chocolate, mild roast coffee, vanilla, and cherry. Cereal grains and chocolate dominate the palate, along with some earth and mild spice notes and a bit off toffee sweetness on the finish. A bit thinner than expected, but fairly complex. Not bad at all.

3.5 Bottle from Phoenix fine Drinks, Gloucester. Dark copper in colour, with a decent, off-white head and slight carbonation. Aroma of caramel, liquorice and a touch of roasted malts. Full mouth feel, with flavours of doughy malts, chocolate and earthy spices. The finish was dry with plenty of liquorice in the after taste. Very enjoyable.

3.4 Gently vineous, raisiny nose. Pours deep brown with a quickly dissipating head. Flavour is burnt caramel with some licorice and tobacco and a hint of toasted muesli. Finishes well with the sweet, dark malt lingering longest. Quite pleasant.

3.9 Pouring me a one-fingered tan head, the colour was a dark, my word was it dark, clear copper and amber. The aroma was far more hopped than was the taste, as the taste was quite malted and sweet, with notes of coffee and some chocolate. Mouthfeel and aftertaste were quite agreeable. Surely this was the most unique scottish ale I’ve ever had, and I seemed to be other than an ale.

3.4 5/18/2009: The aroma of Traquair Laird’s Liquor is slightly dry and has roasted malts and is lightly nutty. Somehow it is not overly appealing. The beer is brown in color with a thin, off-white crown. The flavor is malty, yet dry and a little weak in the middle. The overall flavor is moderately dry and dusty with hints of smoke/char. The middle is a bit weak and then chewy liquorice definitely comes through in the finish. There is a decent depth of malt and the flavor gets sweeter as it warms wiht undertones of chocolate. some Brazil nut also then becomes evident in the finish. This medium-bodied beer is smoot and somewhat chewy at the same time. Overall, this is an interesting Scottish-style Old Ale that is very respectable. 11.2 fl. oz. bottle (6% Alc. Vol.) at the Winking Lizard Tavern in Columbus, Ohio. Rating #134 for this beer.

3.6 Poured out a large pillowy light brown crown on top of brown with dark red highlights. Excellent retention and pretty good ropy lacing. The somewhat mild aroma is of chocolate, butterscotch, roasted malts and dark but sweet fruit. I didn’t like the taste right off the bat as the smokiness hit hard, but that faded in strength and I began to enjoy the flavours more. Smoke, chocolate and molasses make up the majority of the flavour with a soft hoppy finish. Medium bodied. Quite creamy with a small ammount of carbonation, good malt middle and ends sort of earthy with a sllight burnt aftertaste. Interesting beer.

3.3 Bottle from Keg Liquor. Poured clear dark brown color with an average frothy off-white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate toasted malt and woody aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium complex sweet flavor and medium toasted sweet finish of moderate duration. Interesting drinkable beer.

2.9 Crystal clear ruby red and possibly some brown highlights, a large crown was created during the pour but it reduced to a thick blanket of bubbles after only a few seconds. Wow this a strong aroma I can smell it from everywhere in the room, tons of dark fruit figs/prunes, a whole shit load of dark roasted malts and some coffee thrown in for good measure. Taste was identical to the aroma and just like the aroma it was intense, it was almost to strong in my opinion. Mouth feel seemed a bit too stingy from too much carbonation but it wasn’t really bad. Brew taste good but I’m not enjoying it, it’s very complex but to intense for me, I don’t know maybe I’m just not in the mode for this beer tonight I’ll give it a rereview some time."

2.9 Date: May 09, 2009 Mode: Bottle Source: Roadtrip Appearance: clear dark amber, wispy grey head Aroma: sweet caramel aroma with a peppery spicyness Flavor: rich caramel malt flavor, just a touch of sweetness, light peppery character from the aroma Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20 Rating: 2.9/5.0 Drinkability: 7/10 Score: *4

3.6 Clear dark brown color with a beige head. Aroma of caramel malts and dark fruits. Flavaor of caramel, nuts and liquorice.

3.8 Bottle from St. Aidan’s Winery, Holy Island. Soily aubergine marinaded in Schlenkerla aroma with gravy and fennel. Heavy clear burgundy with a slim beige collar collapsing to a halo; slick and still with a tingle of carbonation. Uncomplicated meaty liquorice, aubergine and smoke flavour. Bit heavy on the liquorice, but very pleasant sipping nontheless. Never used aubergine in a rate before,but there it is.

3.4 Pours a copper color with a tan head. Aroma is of caramel malts, nuttiness, slight roasted malts, smokiness, and some dark fruits. Flavor is nutty with some roasted malts, chocolate, dark fruits, and caramel malts.

3.4 Bottled, 330ml. Dark brown with slight head, a little flat. Some fruity sourness on the nose following in to a dark fruity body, a little red wine character about it, and a little raw for an aged beer. Not quite as much depth as expected, but a still perfectly reasonable beer, another for sipping away in front of the fire.

4.0 12oz bottle labeled "The Laird’s Legacy". Brown pour with a medium beige head. Malty caramel and vanilla aroma with some nuttiness. Caramel malt flavor up front, followed by vanilla and a smoky coffee finish. I really liked this.

3.9 Bottle: Deep brown with a dense off-white head. Roasted malts accompanied by bruised foliage and some eucalyptus in the aroma. Dark and sweet on the tongue with tingly menthol effects that build up as you drink it. The finish is lingering and nasal. Great to finish an evening, especially a winter one.

3.7 Bottle, from trade with faroeviking. A dark brown, clear beer with a fingerthick beige head. Dried fruits and oxidation on the nose. Also a touch of licorice, some roasted malt and maybe some peat. Full-bodied with some carbonation. Cocoa, dried fruits, roasted malt, some salty licorice and oxidation in the flavor. Quite complex, and the oxidation is just pleasant. Somehow it feels sugary in the mouth, but it’s more on the dry side. Some sourness detected too. The finish has a good load of cocoa, salty licorice and roasted malt. As it warms up, more layers of aroma and flavor shows up, revealing coffee, a mild bitterness, a touch of alcohol and some vinous qualities. The bottle I had was 16 months past BB-date, but was still delicious. Really a lairds liquor. (080925)