Cherry Adam From The Wood (2012)

Reviewing the Cherry Adam From The Wood from Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company out of Portland, Oregon. Cherry Adam is Hair Of The Dog's Adam old ale aged with black cherries in Bourbon and Sherry casks for 15 months.
Score: 96

Fall 2012 vintage bottle served in a Surly Darkness snifter and enjoyed on 02/08/13. A major thanks and shout out to Kevin Fujii for hooking me up with this long time want!

Appearance: Pours a very dark reddish brown color with a thin layer of tan head with a reddish hue that settles to a thin ring around the glass. Poor lacing and retention. The color on this beer is quite intriguing. 3.75/5

Smell: The cherry and sherry qualities really shine in the nose, as does a prune-like smell. There is also a much more subtle and "balanced" bourbon aroma present as well, imparting vanilla, molasses, cocoa/chocolate, oak and a little toffee and faint dark fruit too. If your nose approaches the glass as just the right angle, these bourbon-based complexities really shine. There is also an extremely faint "smoke" quality in the aroma -- in substantially lesser quantum than what was present in Adam or Adam From The Wood. The mixture of the bourbon, sherry, cherry and prune in the nose make for a wonderfully complex experience. You could smell this beer all day and be continuously dazzled by how dynamic the aroma can be based on temperature and where your nose is positioned relative to the glass. As it warms up, the bourbon characters become more prominent and there cherry gets a little more "medicinal" -- but akin to the aroma of Deschutes' The Dissident or New Glarus' Belgian Red, as opposed to New Glarus' Thumbprint Cherry Stout. Maybe medicinal is not the proper term, as it carries such a negative connotation, and the cherry aroma here really works. 4.5/5

Taste: Initially, the bourbon flavors shine more than anticipated in light of the nose. Molasses, vanilla, cherry and prune. There's some slightly tannic sweetness and alcoholic warmth on the palate in the finish. There is substantially more dark fruit on the palate than the nose led on as well. The beer is sweet on the tongue, but it does not finish sweet -- lending to drinkability. As it warms up, a "bourbon-infused cherry" flavor with a nice subtle vanilla backbone grows. Some toffee flavor is present too. The bourbon-based flavors (molasses, etc) and a little bit of dark fruit and sherry defines the finish. There is a nice red grapey sherry flavor throughout. I am not detecting any smokiness whatsoever. This beer is admittedly a little hot fresh, but it is still so darn tasty! The finish is pretty crisp, with only a faint, non-sweet pruney-cherry flavor lingering for more than a second or two after the swallow. I am frankly shocked by how balanced the beer finishes in light of it's sweet qualities. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with minimal carbonation. This one has a real nice viscosity. A little sweet on the palate, but the sweetness totally dissipates with the swallow. Slightly creamy, slightly sticky on the palate. 4.5/5

Overall: Hot fresh, but complex and delicious. Loaded with bold, boozy flavors here.  Can't wait to revisit this batch in a year!

Recommendation: Seek a couple of bottles of this out; it's awesome.

Cost: $12 for a 12 oz bottle.