UPDATED: JAN 5, 2022 12oz bottle pours out dark brown almost black topped with a tan head. Nose is nice big barrel vanilla chocolate notes. Taste is more of the nice chocolate big booze whiskey barrel and some vanilla.

UPDATED: DEC 19, 2021 Bottle @ Home. Black pour with a finger or so of tan foam. Really excellent barrel-forward aroma. Tons of rye/whiskey, vanilla, graham cracker, and oak. Just a bit of char and a good amount of roasted malt. Unfortunately the mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side. It does have a good fruity character to it along with plenty of booze, rye, oak, and dark chocolate. Smells better than it tastes, but still pretty nice.

UPDATED: DEC 5, 2021 12oz bottle from Hops & Bottles. Black pour, skin of beige head. Rich chocolate notes throughout, licorice. Sweet, subtle strength. Not that boozy.

UPDATED: NOV 3, 2021 Bottle from Imperial Taproom Portland. Colour…dark brown with a corpulent tan head. Nose…roasty with plenty of rye spice, dark chocolate, burnt sugar sirop and oak. Palate…fairly frothy with a heady bit of rye as well as anise, fennel and liquorice root. The mid palate is somewhat soapy in feel and has a bit of astringency. The finish is long, loaded with liquorice whip and oaky tannins.

UPDATED: OCT 24, 2021 Deep brown black body with a foamy tan head that sticks to a half-finger depth before fading. Aroma is sweet chocolate malt with echoes of booze. Average body and smooth texture. Moderate carbonation. Creamy flavors of chocolate with notes of coffee and malt. Finish is tangy with overtones of whiskey. Not too boozy though. A beautiful, rich stout. XXIII Edition.

UPDATED: OCT 16, 2021 The 12 oz bottle was bought at the local craft beer store a month or so back. The regular Old Rasputin used to be a steady drink for me, one of the first imperial stouts I rated. XXIII edition at 11.4% abv it says on the label. I have the Buffalo Bayou snifter on the table for the pour and I see a brown-black body with a dwindling medium tan head. I take a deep sniff and determine lots of chocolate, malt and coconut maybe. A drink comes now, yes, this is pretty good. Malt, a coffee presence, booze, dark chocolate, raspberry, a bit of char and some oakiness. Find the sensation to be a bit thin, I prefer a denser imperial stout. In any case, I like it considerably, a step up on the base OR.

UPDATED: SEP 27, 2021 XXIII / Pours a pitch black with a tan head. Bold aroma of semi sweet malts. Medium body. Lightly oily texture with lots of lacing. Smooth and creamy with roasted malt flavor and a slightly dry rye taste. Light carbonation. Not overly boozy. Pretty enjoyable. Finishes with a lingering coffee like aftertaste.

UPDATED: SEP 24, 2021 Beer tasting @ Jorn69 24/9-21. Bottle from Mikkeller webshop. Roasted malty with coffee, chocolate and BA. Body is medium, the finish is dry and roasted with BA.

UPDATED: SEP 25, 2021 Tasting @ Havregatan 20210924. [ XXII ] Bottle from Systembolaget. Roasted malty and woody with bourbon and coffee, medium body with an oily texture. The finish is bitter with alcohol.

UPDATED: SEP 24, 2021 Flaska från systembolaget. Svart öl med fylligt beiget skum. Trevlig öl med fina toner av choklad, kaffe, vanilj, trä och bourbon. Torr fin avslutning.