I've come to expect a spicy nose to these seasonal beers, but this one just has a warm and malty, almost nutty aroma with a hint of treacle. Nice...
The taste is equally full and warm, with toasty malt flavours on the tongue followed by an almost sweet and treacly (yet dry) finish that lingers in the mouth making you want more and more.
It's certainly not a session beer at 5.5% (unless you have a greater constitution than me), but if a beer with similar flavours was available at about 4% instead, it would probably be right up my street for a good quenching session.! I would be interested to see whether Hook Norton do a similar dark beer that fits the bill.?
Verdict: 4/5