Bottle thanks to Marc. Pours a deep brown/black with minimal / quickly dissipating tan head. Aroma is raisin, fig, boozy rum, sweet candied malt. Flavor is huge sweet boozy rum cake, vanilla, caramel.

Had this on tap at the brewery from a snifter. 3.5 A: Black color. Two fingers frothy tan head. Retention is average and a wisp of lacing is left. 3.75 S: Supremely well integrated with the barrel. Sweet, spicy rum meshes with black currants, plum, fig. Not a lot of spice though. 3.75 T: Very low booziness, flavors as above. Not a flavor explosion, but sophisticated and well integrated. 3.75 M: Medium body. Good moderate carbonation, but not quite as creamy as I’d like. 4.0 D: Good beer, no flaws, just not quite a standout. ★ 546 characters DavoleBomb, Jan 17, 2015

Bottle from bestway. Cola toffee caramel sweet. A little flat. Sugary rum booze on the back end of the palate. Aroma is cola and toffee. Finish is a little muddled and boozy rum.

375 mL bottle from Beer Run. Dark brown with a thin fizzy tan head. Poor retention. Aroma of caramel, nuts, rum, raison, cola. The taste is caramel, toast, toffee, cola, dark fruits, rum. Medium bodied, low carbonation, mild booze.

Bottle… Pours mostly clear and dark brown with flashes of dirty-orange and a tiny, off-white head that sticks around. This doesn’t smell good. There’s not much of an aroma at all, so I can’t tell if I’m smelling the beer or the night’s well-used glass. However, I wash the glass between beers, so this smells minerally, if anything at all. Full-bodied with a velvety mouthfeel and pillow-soft carbonation. The flavor is both boozy and toasty. Not much going on here. Nondescript booziness. Smooth liquor and smooth overall, but overall, but there’s just nothing here. The flavor isn’t offensive, just boring. Bottle courtesy of darkguardian!

375 mL bottle from AleWerks Brewing in Williamsburg, VA. Dark brown cola-like pour with a fizzy khaki head. Aroma of sugar, light chocolate, rum, and oak. Taste offers chocolate, coffee, rum, cane sugar, oak, and booze. Lots of heat on the finish. Certainly not a bad beer but not worth its $12 price tag either.

Appearance: Black body with a thin fizzy cola-like head that quickly disappears leaving barely a ring and no lacing at all. The lack of head is forgivable given the ABV, but it’s not impossible for a beer of this volume to maintain a head.

Aroma: Without even approaching the glass I get a strong rum aroma. Upon closer approach I pick up very strong aromas of plum, a rich cherry-like scent, and a mellow banana aroma. It has a very strong aromatic presence.

Taste: There is a very faint caramel flavor right up front mixed in with a bit of bread. The warmth of the alcohol comes through immediately, but It doesn’t give off an unpleasant flavor. There is a faint date flavor and a bit of a light earthy after-taste. Notes of rum are present throughout the entire drinking experience.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is surprisingly thin. There’s not much to say about how this feels in the mouth, and I don’t want to ramble on about what does not exist.

Overall: I wasn’t too impressed with the beer. I suppose it had a lot to live up to given that it is an anniversary ale, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, and one that was aged in rum casks. It just didn’t deliver anything memorable. The biggest let-down for me was the mouthfeel. The beer tasted good with rum, but so does Coke. I would opt for a better Belgian Strong Dark Ale over one with the extra bells and whistles.

3/27/2015. From bottle. Dark brown with a fizzy tan head. Dried fruit, caramel, anise aromas. A bit boozy as expected, some oily texture. Sweet boozy finish.

Bottle recommended by Dan from Village Market & bistro in Winchester, thank you sir! Clear maroon brown color, tan head. Aroma of vanilla, licorice. Taste has toffee, roast, port wine, booze. Not over the top. Very drinkable, more so than I would have guessed from the abv.

Bottle thanks to obguthr FBW contest. Poured Poured almost black min ring of beige. Aroma sweet fruity berry booze aroma. Light carb med bod. Tastes less intense sweet sugary grain.