On opening the bottle, a smoky, whisky complex with a hint of cherry aroma hits you. It pours a lovely deep cherry red and the flavour doesn't disappoint, definitely one of the best Holy Goat have done and an absolutely lovely beer. Definitely one to savour and enjoy

Bigger and more refined brother of Holy Mountain, which I love and rated 4.1...so I believe I'm in for a treat and especially when you read the description. Short version is: aged golden sour over danish cherries in a Blair Athol barrel and a Flanders red over same cherries in a Aberlour barrel, both left for 8 months then blended. Epic. It's a very deep and dark ruby colour, like blood...happy Halloween if you like that kind of thing. Hold it up to a light to see the ruby hue. On the nose is a heady aroma of perplexing scents to analyse.. warm sweet whiskey vapour emerges first followed by Kirsch like cherry, vanilla from the barrels is rather prevalent too, in fact it's the principal smell. Overall it's fairly subdued in intensity but complex. First sip is sour but not mouth collapsing-ly so, you won't recoil and suffer with this one. Whiskey barrel hits you straight away, American vanilla oak to be precise, it gives warmth and subtle sweetness like dark caramel, followed by au jus or coulis-like cherry richness, that is to say concentrated and rich. It doesn't attack your tongue with massive impact, more like coats and resides on your tongue for ages. It's syrupy and silky smooth in the mouth with a long lasting finish and gentle carbonation. The cherry is sweet and integrates with the sweet whiskey imparted flavours...an unholy matrimony! As I continue to sip at this I'm beginning to pick up balsamic vinegar from the Flanders red portion of this blend. The cherry really covers it at first then you can separate the two. There is some salt in the finish too, which accumulates over time. It really does express it's self over time, the subtlety opening up past the obvious whiskey and cherry. It's overall impression is of darkness and warmth. Dark cherry and warm whiskey, presenting as a sweet and sour coulis beer. And then whe considering the Flanders influence again us jus comes to mind, or a dressing or gravy. I'm sure you could pair this with lamb! The ABV clocks in at 8.4% which is higher than most Holy Goats but not by a huge margin. This alcohol isn't explicit but implied. I'd say I was expecting more of an impact, a bigger taste bud hit. What I got was a European coulis/jus with deep complexity. Perhaps that expectation was misplaced...this is a refined spirit like experience too. For fans of Kirsch or whiskey certainly, if not flanders red. You could easily miss the Flanders element if you focus elsewhere. I will keep another bottle for the long haul and maybe get a different outcome, till then I'll say this brew is great example of barrel aging, artisan quality and blending. One to savour.