I am relaxing, and contemplating of the meaning of these words.  Naturally, as I don’t speak, or am able to translate latin, I am reflecting on the modern english translation.  It is also my distinguished pleasure to be enjoying a fantastic beer named after the originator of this phrase.

South County – Virgil – This beer looks thin, and slightly translucent, as it is poured.  But when it takes possession of the glass it morphs into a deep, murky, obsidian pool. The first pour is topped with a creamy, and slowly dissipating head that gives way to rivulets of creamy accent that languidly shift atop a blackened abyss.  The smell is intoxicatingly incendiary. There is a veritable sting, not unpleasant, in my nostrils, followed by ripples of anise, molasses, bourbon, vanilla, and oak.    The body is more chewy than expected from the pour.  The flavors evolve with each sip, shifting from vanilla, to bourbon, to figs, to licorice, to burnt molasses, to oak/woodiness, and back to heat.  There is nothing wrong, in my mind, with the punctuation of the flavors in a beer with the boozy effect reminding you that you are, in fact, drinking alcohol.  Some, I am well aware, are put off by this element in a libation. My guess would be that this heat will mellow off in time.  If you can find this beer, buy two or more, one to drink immediately, and another or more to sit and see how it matures.  My guess is, it will age most impressively.  I purchased a few to properly evaluate its maturation.  8/10

After drinking this bottle, absorbing its heat, allowing it to stimulate and titillate my many senses, and to invigorate my passions, I deem it worthy of the homage to its namesake.

Though I don’t necessarily feel the scars of old flames, I do feel the heat, the burning, and powerful immolation of the new.  These do signify passion, intensity, and incredible potential.

The only oddity in my discovery of this magical brew is that I had to venture out-of-state, literally, to find it.

Before my purchase of the beer, I had never heard of this company.  Now, I can’t wait to arrange a visit to South County, and to generate a new flame.

Humbly yours,

J