UPDATED: JUN 30, 2019 500 ml bottle into snifter, 2013 vintage. Pours dense opaque pitch black color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big juicy/tart/tangy red/black cherries, fruit skin/pits, raisin, plum, prune, fig, date, currant, red grape/wine, citrus zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, cognac, brandy, toasted oak, nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of cherries, dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of big juicy/tart/tangy red/black cherries, fruit skin/pits, raisin, plum, prune, fig, date, currant, red grape/wine, citrus zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, cognac, brandy, toasted oak, nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, roast, char bitterness; cherry/cognac tang/tartness; and oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy cherry, skin/pits, dark fruit, red grape/wine, citrus zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, cognac, brandy, toasted oak, nuts, biscuit, dark bread/crust, light coconut/licorice, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of cherries, dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great hop/char bitter/sweet, tart/tangy fruit, and spicy barrel balance; with no cloying, puckering, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness, tart/tangy fruit, and spicy oak, Medium-plus carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/grainy, and fairly sticky/acidic/tangy/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 10%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an awesome fruited cognac barrel aged Russian imperial stout. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of cherries, dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mellowly bitter/charred/acid/tangy/tannic/drying finish; Great soft feel for the ABV. Fantastic balance of super juicy/jammy cherries, rich malts, and Cognac barrel presence/integration; with restrained fruity yeast, and earthy hops. Light residual sweetness with lingering bitter/tart/tangy dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressively spot on style example as expected. Held up extremely well for the age.

Cheers to Tim for this. Nose is lovely cherries, cognac, chocolate big time. Big fruity flavor, lots of cherry, grape, chocolate, roasty and dry finish, lightly sour, cognac works very well. Lovely.

Thanks TimE for sharing the bottle! Poured into a taster showing pitch black with a finger of latte colored foam. The nose shows moderately intense notes of sweet roasted malts and light cherries. The palate is full bodied and well carbonated with a moderate alcoholic bite. Pronounced flavours of dark chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt with an espresso bitterness. Mild wood bourbon throughout.

UPDATED: JAN 26, 2019 This is good and I would expect so for the bottle cost. Very dense and rich chocolate-like malts and deep fruit. Perfect bitter-dry accompaniment from hops and roast. Shows a fetching bit of toasty aged barrel oak tannin, faint cognac. I don't know what year, probably got it in 2016. UPDATE 2018 or whatever bottle, also great - the sustaining Cherry note is amazing. Has a very regal rich/acidic balance with just a nice note of cognac barrel that doesn't stomp all over the chocolate. But definitely rich!

A fucking brilliant beer. The only downside is a touch of sweetness that I can't seem to ignore. The pour is an insanely black, heavy and viscous coming out of the bottle, a thin tan head. The nose is fruity, quite oaky, nice heavy roast, dark chocolate, big espresso notes. Rich, robust and supremely heavy beer with a big punch at the end. Oaky, nice cherry notes, light bitterness on the finish. Sweetness throughout the profile, smooth, heavy and ultra rich. Only detractor is the sweetness.

2016 vintage bottle. Drank this around Midnight on The eve of Halloween. An awesome inky black with a thick rusty colored head. The aroma is candied maraschino cherries draped in dark chocolate. Full bodied with a raspy carbonation and yet a mouthfeel that evokes thoughts of being velvety. Still boozy so it could use a bit more aging I suspect. The taste is roasty, savoury, sweet tart cherries or raspberries and some sharp oak. A terrific imperial stout aged in barrels with cherries. Awesome.

A 500ml bottle at the brewery, December 2016 vintage, poured into a Bellwoods tulip glass. It was black in colour with pretty much no head and only sparse lacing, although what was there was mocha in colour. Aromas of cherries, prunes, raisins and oak with hints of coffee and chocolate. Tastes of cherries, oak and raisins with hints of chocolate malt and cocoa. Full bodied with low carbonation. Overall it has a very nice body, tastes great, and a very enjoyable sipper.

Bottle sample courtesy of Steve, thanks! Black color brown head. Aroma of fruity coffee. Whoa fruit! And big tannins. And vanilla burnt fruit burnt espresso. Tasty

September 20, 2013 - at Bar Hop - on draught. Black. Light brown creamy head. Wow, what an aroma - dark roast; chocolate, roasted coffee bean, walnut shell - not sweet, lightly herbal and minimal alcohol assertion. Taste is an "OMG" - cognac and sour cherry and huge dark chocolate, moderate alcohol; this should be a cake! Average impy body, slick, acidic and airy - dry tingly cocoa finish - emerging bitterness, and a fantastic beer.

500ml bottle. Poured at 4-5 degrees so I let it sit for an hour. This stuff is epic. Motor oil pour with a a frothy tan cap. Huge, heavy nose: liquorice and cocoa, dark cherries, vanilla, oak. This is the Ontario version of Dieu du Ciel's Peché Mortel. Delicious imperial stout. I really like that this leans more towards the liquorice than typical chocolate/coffee side of a Typical IS. This is a beautiful beer. I paid $32 for a pint bottle and I'd do it again. Top shelf IS.  ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone