Sampled: November 11, 2007
All the Triple expectations - burnt orange body, champagne effervescence and alcohol bouquet - vanished upon pouring this brownish-black beauty into a chalice-style glass.
This is an elderly bottle, its "Best Before" date stamped for 2008, and its nuances agrees its well-aged. Chocolate, toffee and roasted nuts mix with a dominant molasses flavor below a slightly bitter, foamy head.
The dark fruits so often associated with this style never arrive, but the floweriness of a younger bottle wasn't expected anyway.
The Triple Imperiale is a decidedly wine-like affair, not in taste, but in bearing. At 10 percent alcohol upon bottling, it has easily gone up a few percentage points and risen in potency.
It also owes something to Scotch whiskey - a younger bottle would present more diverse flavors, but as with Scotch, one flavor grows in prominence as the alcohol ages. In this case, the molasses takes over, holding court until it dovetails into a smooth raisin finish that pardons most of its flaws.
Brasserie des Rocs Triple Imperiale isn't on par with the giants of the style, St. Bernardus Abt 12 or Chimay Grand Reserve. But it stands only a few short steps behind.
Rating: 8/10
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