A Yuletide Revenge Tale

[Silvertree]

Spiced ale with fig, plum, and candied citrus peel.

[starbrow]

This tale of revenge is a Yule chameleon. Blind-smelling, a "Christmasy" scent pops out that is so potent, I immediately received comments of "smells like evergreens/pine". So the spices lean woody and dark but a little bristly. Perhaps clove, nutmeg, cardamom? (No cinnamon to my nose.) They're swirled into a bright top note of the candied citrus peel - which is definitely giving me simmer pot orange peels wafting through the house. There is a dash of lemon in there too. This is not for the citrus-adverse, but I don't go wild for citrus and I do like this!

 

The ale note reminds me of Feeding the Dead. Upon drydown, it becomes like a dry hard cider. A little fizzy, a lot fruity. A good balance between spiced and fruit sweetness. If I search hard, I can smell the fig (woody like an unripe pear) and the plum (which here leans floral for me, not sour like I hate, but also not dark and gothic like I like my plums). The result is a botanicals-infused beverage that's mellow, more fizz than booze, and a gentle Christmas vibe.

 

I'm in like but not yet in love. This is overall a win of a blind buy! I'm curious to see how A Yuletide Revenge Tale will age. Maybe MORE revenge next Yuletide!

[splendidissima]

Ooh, this is so interesting! I usually like the BPAL ciders, ales, holiday fruit scents, and this falls squarely into that realm. It's not as sweet as Pom or Pumpkin Cider - this is definitely an ale with spices, versus a sweeter cider. Though, having said that, there's certainly candied orange peel floating on the top! I think the spices might include some nutmeg and ginger?

 

I agree that it's a sort of dry (in the wine sense, versus sweet) hard cider scent: fizzy (there's definitely some fizz), fruity, warmly spiced ale with a little bit of candied citrus. It smells like an old-fashioned winter holiday beverage to me - very much like something you'd get served at a Victorian Yuletide party! It's very fun.

[samanare]

On me the spice ale is really strong, and the spice specifically is so strong and earthy it smells woodsy and smokey. I can pick out the fruit, but it's pushed to the back by the spice/smoke scent. Not what I was expecting at all. And to my tastes, the spiced ale works against the fruity sweetness from the rest of the notes.

[Tamarinda]

In the decant: Indeterminate spices.

 

Wet: Very Quiet. Citrusy. Spicy.

 

Dry: It's a pleasant, citrus peel-based holiday tea. But like, if the cup of tea was in one room and you were in another. It's very faint on my skin and fades to nearlly nothing in about 30 minutes. My skin seems to hunger for fruity perfume since it eats them all up in short order. Curses.