Cigar City Big Sound Scotch Ale - Bourbon Barrel-aged

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: Scotch Ale
Tampa, Florida USA

Serve in Thistle

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UPDATED: FEB 10, 2010 bottle 111 at home ... thanks to thecheeseman .... short lived tan head ... deeep cherry richer nose than normal ... light vanilla nose ... bourbon front ... soft fruits again ... but quite a lot of vanilla and coconut ....prefer the original ... 3.5 TK2 Same bottle 4 days latter ... if anything i think this has got better ... deep brown ... rich caramel vanilla nose ... soft rich fruits .... coconut ... soft roast malt ... this has definitely improved with the breathing ... 3.9 Leaving as is after all who else is likl to let it breath for 4 days

Bottle. Very dark brown. Not much head. A rather boozy aroma jumps out of the glass, something I don’t remember from when I had it at the tap room. The aroma also has sweet vanilla and brown sugar elements from the barrel, and the signature dark fruits and rich malts of the scotch ale. On the palate, this is very sweet, with light fruits and a pretty strong dark malt scotch ale character. The barrel is all over this beer, with brown sugar and bourbon. It doesn’t taste as hot as it smelled. The big thing with this beer is that the interaction between the scotch ale and the barrel elements is only okay. On paper, they ought to be quite cohesive but I don’t know if I’ve ever really loved a bourbon Scotch Ale before so it might just be something that can only peak so high.

Bottle at Deeblo 30 th birthday. Hate the aroma. too bourbon too barrel aged no beer. all bourbon on aroma. i mean unbalanced and not great

Name: Big Sound, BA
Date: May 29, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Bhalter Summersalter
Appearance: clear dark brown, fine beige head
Aroma: sweet caramel and bourbon aroma, bourbon candy
Flavor: sweet caramel flavor, bourbon and vanilla sweetness, just a touch of earthy smokeyness
Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *** /4

Dark brown with red glimts and a medium sized beige head. Sweet aroma with roasted malt, chocolate and coffee notes. Sweet flavour with hard roasted malt, coffee and chocolate notes. Finished sweet and full bodied.

UPDATED: JUL 12, 2009 750ml bottle @Noogfest High5–pours a light tan ring for a head and dark amber color. Aroma is bourbon, dark malt-sweet molasses, peat, secondary hops bite. Taste is bourbon, dark malt-sweet molasses, peat, secondary hops bite, some earthy/ashy.

Bottled (bottle 237/246, vintage 2009)
Dark brown color, steady beige head. Aroma of licorce, oak, vanilla and bourbon. Full-bodied. Vanilla, oak, licorice, bourbon. More complex and more interesting than the normal version.

9th July 2010
Bottle 155/246. Cloudy dark brown beer. No head at all. Very low carbonation in the smooth soft palate. Aniseed malt with a chocolate streak. Smooth coconut bourbon and a little wood. Not dry. Finishes smooth. Good stuff but missing a little fine tuning to be really great/

UPDATED: AUG 17, 2011 Brown with a small tan head. Aroma of malt, bouron and vineous alcohol. Sweet and malty flavour with a slightly tart tannic note and some oak. A bit cloying in the sweetness and with notable alcohol

Bottled Ƒ/246). Reddish brown coluored. unclear. Dense brown head. aroma of spice, carmel, sweetness, vanilla and wood. Flaovur is sweet and spiced. Has yeast, light roastt nd fruits. Smooth and balanced. Medium to full bodied. Ends on a spiced fruity note with a light alcohol bite. Very well made.