From tap. Black color with nice beige brown head. Malty aroma, roasted, cocoa, milk and dark chocolate, some soy sauce notes, maple, wood, vanilla, light alcohol. Sweet and light bitter taste. Full silky oily body with soft carbonation.

From notes. Enjoyed at a tasting at Brian’s on March 30. 500 mL bottle. The pour is a darker black color with a thin light khaki colored ring of head and nothing left in wake as it falls to nothing. The aroma is interesting. There is a good roasted malt and a lot of alcohol. The chocolate underneath helps out, but there is no doubt, this thing is bourbon barrel and boozy. Charred oak and a lighter bitter chocolate round it out. The flavor is a lot of the same. The booze is big throughout and the roasted malts and chocolate add just enough bitterness to help offset that. The mouth feel is medium bodied and softly carbonated with a lingering chocolate and heavy booze. Not bad, but it’s very single dimensional. 6 4 6 4 14

500 ml bottle into snifter; no bottle dating, but is a recent release. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger dense tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, nuttiness, caramel, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, dark fruit, leather, smoke, char, herbal, pepper, and roast/toast/oak earthiness. Bit of booze in the aromas as it warmed, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, nuttiness, caramel, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, dark fruit, leather, smoke, char, herbal, pepper, and roast/toast/oak earthiness. Mild roast/char bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, nuttiness, caramel, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, dark/brown bread, light molasses/dark fruit/smoke, and roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering roast bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel that is amazing. Slight slickness, chalky roast, and oak tannins. Mildly increasing warmth of 11.5%, with minimal barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an amazing barrel aged imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. Extremely rich and well rounded stout malt complexity, with perfect barrel integration/balance. Not overly bitter/charred on roast, or tannic on barrels. A highly amazing offering, and pretty top tier style example.