Jack Daniel's Oak Aged Robust Porter
Smuttynose Brewing Company

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From:
Smuttynose Brewing Company
 
New Hampshire, United States
Style:
Robust Porter
ABV:
8%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.14 | pDev: 15.94%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
10
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 07, 2014
Added:
May 17, 2008
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Aug 07, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by GrindFatherBob from New York

Jun 12, 2013
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Reviewed by TheBrewo from New York

4.17/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This guy was served from the tap at Tap and Mallet in Rochester, NY. It arrived in a Unibroue chalice showing the darkest black coloring, with no light let up around the edges. It held a one and a half finger head of lighter brown bubbles, showing decent retention. Spots of lacing were left dripping down the glass. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appeared average. The aroma gave soured oak, big roasty char of coffee malts, soured vinegar mash, and metallic yeast bite. Rounding out with warmth came more fusel booze, massive raw fig leaf, stem, and nectar. The latter was the closest thing to hops in the nose, and afforded a bit of a syrupy sweet balance. Our first impression was that there was very big sourness to the oak, but this tended to calm down with warmth. The flavoring opened with that souring oak bite, phenolic plastics, straight whisky mash, basement mustiness, and soy sauce saltiness. The peak came with more bittered oakiness, roastiness of malts, soured lime rind, syrupy fig and strawberry sugariness, and black malt oiliness. The finish was the cleanest part of the blend, with chalky chocolate malts, light grittiness of yeast, light florals, and mossy grassiness. The aftertaste breathed of more mustiness, fusel booze, more whisky flavoring, soured oak of the barreling, and less warming but sincere spice of wood, salt, and mustard seed. The body was full, and the carbonation was light to medium. There was a slick, oily coating to the mouth, with great foam and froth to the lip. Each sip gave good slurp and pop, with decent ultimate creaminess. The abv was appropriate, and the beer sipped easily.

Overall, what we liked best about this brew was the cleanliness to the finish, and the intense complexity through the flavoring. The first sip really knocks you off your seat with the soured mash of oak, but with warmth you tend to get used to it, and it acts to smooth the malts on the back, all while giving warmth. The nose also saw this same blend of smoothness. We did feel, however, that JD is a “weak” liquor to barrel against, as itself doesn’t give as much heat and warming as some other more refined bourbons. Nonetheless, this was tasty and interesting, and a golden variant of one of Smuttynose’s staples.
Dec 20, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by DefenCorps from Oregon

Feb 27, 2012
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Reviewed by LilBeerDoctor from New York

2.4/5  rDev -42%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
On tap at Blind Tiger. Pours black with a small tan head. Aroma of bourbon. Yep. Very strong bourbon. I don't want to drink this...Flavor is quite bourbony as well but not terribly overpowering. There is some bitter chocolate in the flavor, but it's still WAY too bourbony. This could have been a good blend of bourbon and the robust porter, but instead the bourbon completely overwhelmed the base beer and made this quite undrinkable.
3/4/6/2/11 (2.6/5)
Apr 15, 2009
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Reviewed by JohnQVegas from Tennessee

4.32/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours black, only a hint of brown peeking through around the edges. No head, just a bit of a bubbly ring.

Vanilla and cocoa dominate the nose. The bourbon aging really brings out the smooth, sweet, rich aspects of the porter. Well balanced, well integrated, and delicious.

Taste follows the nose like a lost puppy. This isn't a model in complexity, but man is it enticing. Prominent vanilla, oak, and whiskey highlights a nice, rich cocoa note, a bit dark but not too much so. Bit of roasty acidity to balance, but understated, and just a hint of hops seem to linger on the finish underneath at all.

Moderate in body and carbonation.

All around delicious treat.
Apr 09, 2009
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Reviewed by selecter70 from Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I have to say that I expected a little more from this on-draught offering, being that I was in its hometown. The pour was nice, but there was little to head to speak of, just a bit of tan that crept to the glass as if to prove it could. The aroma had a rich porter smell with a hint of cheddar cheese (!)...not bad, just a little odd. The flavor was sharp, which is nice, with a sweet charcoal-coffee taste, and the cheese-ness lingered. I am hoping that I hit a fluke bad'un & will definitely go back again.
Dec 15, 2008
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

4.94/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
I had the pleasure of getting to try this one on tap at Barleys. A special keg brought down just for the release night. Needless to say I was a bit thrilled to be getting to try this one, and it was the first beer that I went to as I got to the bar. Served in a pint glass(yeah that's a lot of it) this one was consumed on 10/02/2008.

The pour was very nice. Rich, deep, dark brown in color with no light cracking through this one at all. A smallish head, maybe a half an inch in height coming up over the top, never really did fade away as it kept that nice layer there throughout the session. Rich side glass lacing left a wonderful chocolate tan color that draped the sides of the glass completely.

The aroma was just rife with whiskey. Huge notes of it just all over the place here with a ton of roasted malts and chocolate like notes hiding right under its surface. Letting it warm really let the oak and vanilla start to become dominant, and a hint of alcohol started to present itself in the back end. This was insanely good smelling for a whiskey barrel beer. The flavor was more of the same, rich, full bodied, I would have sore this was a stout in a blind tasting, but no, this indeed was apparently a robust porter. Luscious, velvet like feel in the carbonation never gave way. The flavor started with that warm influx of vanilla and whiskey, lots of caramelized malts and a light roasted or smoky note to it. This then rolled over with nice touches of chocolate rippling throughout. This was amazingly complex. Huge notes of whisky just oozing through the flavor, coating the tongue with a viciousness that was never-ending. Ridiculously sweet underneath of this, it was literally almost too good to be true. A wonderful sipper, I had to pace myself on this one as it was huge.

Overall this will go toe to toe with any of the biggest BA beers I have ever had. It was just so well crafted and complex I was nearly beside myself after taking the first sip. It is still on tap as of this review and you need to go check this out, it was seriously one of the best beers I have ever had period.
Oct 04, 2008
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Reviewed by jwc215 from Arizona

4.57/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
On-tap @ Blind Tiger, NYC:

Pours black with a thin tan head that descends to a patch. Some lacing sticks.

The smell is of a strong porter - chocolate and coffee with strong bourbon notes.

The taste is extremely rich - roasted coffee, chocolate - sweet with balancing roast and a touch of earthy bitterness. Jack Daniels bourbon integrates very nicely without becoming to boozy or sharp. Creamy. Just about as full-bodied as a porter gets.

The alcohol is reasonably well-covered for 8% though it slowly creeps through, but wow - this is a tasty brew - If you like strong porter and JD - you'll love this. The bourbon doesn't mask - integrates very well. Great stuff here - Well done!
Jun 13, 2008
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Reviewed by John_M from Washington

4.62/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
The beer pours a brownish black color with exceptoinal head retention and lacing. On the nose there is a huge blast of coffee, interspiced with dark chocolate. The beer smells very, very impressive. On the palate... jeeze loueeze this is exceptional. The beer is so soft and creamy, and is just loaded with chocolate. There is just a touch of bitterness, which helps to tone down the sweetness perfectly. The beer has a light mouthfeel, which is just fabulous with the creamy mouthfeel. The alcohol is very well disguised and the beer is all too drinkable.

This beer is so delicious, so drinkable, it ought to be banned. One could get into serious trouble drinking this beer, as it's tempting to have one after another. Easily the best porter I have EVER tasted. Nothing else even comes close. Incredible.

Learned just now the JD stands for Jack Daniels. Maybe that explains the incredible nose and smoothness. This beer is a stunner.
May 17, 2008
Jack Daniel's Oak Aged Robust Porter from Smuttynose Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 10 ratings