Trafalgar Cognac-Aged Porter

Trafalgar Cognac-Aged Porter's cool, old-timey ceramic, 500mL swing-top bottle caught my eye. It took me about two seconds to decide to buy it. It comes from Oakville, Ontario's Trafalgar Ales & Meads. According to the label, it's "V.S.O.P.*--a *Very Special Ontario Porter", which I think is cute, as it's aged in cognac barrels.

The Cognac-Aged Porter is a deep brown, nearly black colour topped with an unexpectedly thin cream-coloured head. It has a beautiful aroma--sweet with brown sugar, chocolate, and molasses notes, alongside a tiny whiff of pipe tobacco. It's quite a sweet porter, with a very distinctive flavour. Chocolately notes mingle with molasses and a kiss of cognac potency.

The mouthfeel is a tad thinner than I expected and I'd like a slightly higher alcohol content, but this is a very intriguing brew. It's flavourful, interesting, and comes in a cool bottle. This is a really nice after dinner beer. Kudos to Trafalgar for trying something like this and pulling it off admirably.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.