Skull Splitter

Brewery: The Orkney Brewery
Style: Scotch Ale
ABV: 8.5%
Country: Scotland

From the bottle, "Skull Splitter takes its name from Thorfinn Hauskaluif - the 7th Viking Earl of Orkney." The description alone was enough to make my inner kilt tingle with excitement. With a namesake like that, this had better be a great beer. Pour showed the color to be a rich mahogany brown with a crystal clear body. Big off-white foam left plenty of lacing which lingered the entire way down the bottle. Aroma contained dark fruits, brown sugar, and cinnamon spices. A smooth and creamy body lead to a light sweetness from the malts along with noticeable solvent flavors from the alcohol that mingled with spicy notes. Taste was similar to that of a mild whiskey or scotch. Plenty of roasted flavors jump out during the finish along with a pleasing warming sensation and a slightly puckering bitterness. This would be a great sipping beer on a cold night. A-