The second homebrewed Christmas present pours opaque, jet black. The fairly tame, hasty carbonation lays a truly subdued, beautiful tan, silky lace ring. The ring dissolves quickly to wellnigh zero. No splashes are left on the glass. The fragrance portrays dark chocolate, a bit of mudcake and a distant nuance of some berry that resembles raspberry and/or lingonberry. Quite appealing at this point. The taste receptors enjoy a medley of dark chocolate and raw cacao nibs that is embedded in light-sour black cherry, a whisper of lingonberry and raspberry. I can also detect rather hefty residuals of whisky barrel. The body is light-medium to medium. However, I expected it to be more robust since the ABV = 9.7 %. The beer ends with whisky-infused chocolate malt with a faint roasted twist, followed by subtle black cherry and lingonberry. An oakey hint gears the aftertaste more coarse. Should I also say that there's a faint coffeeish note among the components? The tastebuds are locked up in a wet barrel for a long time. The mouthfeel is moderately barrel aged, oily, remotely tart and dry. It's also woody, a bit coarse and rather flat, yet also easily approachable.