Innis & Gunn The Original 6Pk

Innis & Gunn The Original 6Pk is a bourbon cask-aged Scottish ale at 6.6% ABV, sold as a six-pack of 330ml bottles. Winner of a Grand Gold medal and the prestigious Prize of the Jury at the 2021 Monde Selection Quality Awards, this oak-aged beer has earned consistent international recognition for its rich, toffee-forward character.
Quick Facts: ABV: 6.6%  |  Origin: Edinburgh, Scotland  |  Style: Oak-Aged Ale  |  Brewery: Innis & Gunn
Production & Heritage
Innis & Gunn is an Edinburgh-based brewery that built its reputation on oak-aged beer. Rather than aging beer inside intact barrels, the brewery uses a proprietary process involving specialty vessels called “Oakerators.” Bourbon barrels are dismantled and broken down into stave pieces, which are then toasted to a precise level before being submerged directly into the beer for aging. This method maximizes the surface contact between oak and liquid, extracting deep bourbon-influenced flavors more efficiently than traditional barrel aging. The Original uses a grain bill of Innis & Gunn Ale Malt, Crystal Malt, and Raw Wheat, hopped with Super Styrian hops.
Tasting Notes
Aroma: Sweet malt leads the nose, followed by distinct toffee and caramel. Vanilla from the bourbon-soaked oak emerges alongside a faint woody barrel note.
Taste: The entry is smooth and malt-forward, with caramel and rich roasted malt flavors coating the palate. Mid-palate, vanilla and toffee build in intensity while orange marmalade and citrus notes add brightness. A light hop fruitiness from the Super Styrian hops balances the sweetness without dominating.
Finish: Medium in length with a lingering toffee sweetness and subtle oak warmth. The bourbon barrel influence rounds out the close with soft vanilla and a gentle woody dryness.
How to Drink The Original
Serve at 8–10°C (46–50°F) in a tulip glass or snifter to concentrate the vanilla and oak aromatics. Pouring slightly warmer than a standard lager allows the barrel-aged complexity to open up. The Original also works as a beer cocktail base: try it in a Beer Old Fashioned, where its toffee and bourbon notes replace the whiskey element naturally; in a Shandy with fresh lemonade, where the citrus marmalade character pairs with the tartness; or in a Black Velvet variation blended with stout, where its vanilla sweetness softens the roast.
Best For
Introducing a whisky drinker to the world of craft beer
Autumn and winter evening sessions that call for something richer than a pale ale
Gifting to someone who appreciates barrel-aged beverages
Pairing alongside a charcuterie or cheese board at a dinner gathering
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Innis & Gunn The Original taste like? The Original delivers a smooth, malt-driven profile dominated by toffee, vanilla, and caramel with supporting notes of orange marmalade and citrus. A light hop fruitiness and subtle oak warmth keep the sweetness in check.
How does The Original compare to BrewDog Paradox? Both are Scottish barrel-aged beers, but The Original uses bourbon cask staves aged through Oakerators, producing a sweeter, vanilla-rich profile at 6.6% ABV, while the BrewDog Paradox series uses ex-whisky casks and tends toward darker, more intensely smoky and roasty imperial stout territory at higher ABVs.
Is The Original good for sipping neat? Yes — its 6.6% ABV and smooth, dessert-like complexity make it an ideal standalone sipper, particularly when poured into a tulip glass at cellar temperature to highlight the oak and vanilla layers.
Where is The Original made? The Original is brewed by Innis & Gunn in Edinburgh, Scotland. The brewery is known specifically for its oak-aging techniques using reclaimed bourbon barrel staves.
What foods pair well with The Original? Aged cheddar or Gruyère complement the toffee and caramel sweetness. Smoked salmon works with the subtle oak character. Sticky toffee pudding mirrors the beer’s dominant flavor profile. Barbecue ribs benefit from the vanilla and malt richness. Dark chocolate with sea salt highlights the citrus and barrel notes.
What sizes does The Original come in? The Original is commonly available as a 6-pack of 330ml bottles, as well as individual 330ml bottles and occasionally in larger multi-pack formats.
Is The Original worth the price? The Original positions as a premium craft beer within the barrel-aged category, but its six-pack format brings the per-bottle cost well below most single-serve barrel-aged releases, making it accessible for regular enjoyment rather than special-occasion-only drinking.
Why The Original?
The Oakerator process is genuinely unusual in brewing — dismantling bourbon barrels, toasting the staves, and immersing them directly in the beer gives Innis & Gunn a level of oak contact and flavor extraction that conventional barrel aging cannot match at this scale. The result earned a Grand Gold score of 90–100% and a unanimous Prize of the Jury selection at the 2021 Monde Selection, alongside a 2015 Grand Gold reserved for products achieving gold medals three consecutive years running. For drinkers drawn to bourbon’s vanilla and toffee sweetness but looking for something sessionable at 6.6%, The Original occupies a distinctive middle ground between craft ale and barrel-aged specialty beer. Few six-packs on the market deliver this depth of oak-driven complexity at this price tier.