Well, I had to get pretty deep into this before I could start appreciating it due to drinking it while sharing a browning with ice cream with my wife. Not a good pairing. I'll wait and do a revisit before commenting.

Barrel Aged Advent Calendar Day #5 Bottled on 11-1-2023 Lots of chocolate hits the nose first, followed by more subtle notes of bourbon, oak and roasted malts. Taste has bourbon first, followed by dark fruit notes, chocolate, roasted malts and oak in the finish. In that exact order, transitioning from one to the next to the next. The aftertaste is primarily oak and the dark fruits (raisins and plum). The body is medium-full with an appropriately low amount of carbonation. I feel like I remember the 2017 release being noticeably better, both fresh and aged, but this is drinking beautifully right now. I can comfortably give this a 4.5/5

Barrel Aged Advent Calendar Day #3 Bottled on 10-16-2018 Bourbon, chocolate and oak primarily in the aroma. Taste has bourbon, oak, chocolate and a good amount of roastiness from the malts. The oak is quite ashy tasting, which I don't remember from prior tastings. The body is full with low carbonation. This one never disappoints, but I am a bit thrown off by the ashy oak taste. It doesn't ruin the beer, but it is a bit off-putting. Hopefully it's just a one-off experience and the rest from this year are better. Only time will tell. Normally this is an easy 5 star beer, but I'm knocking it down a bit. High 4.25/5

A little bit bitter, a little bit sweet, slightly fruity aftertaste, decent

Really didn’t like this one, too hoppy.

Fruity smell. Nice fruity raspberry aromas. It's gentle and balanced. We also have smoothness from the wheat.