Cigar City Big Sound Scotch Ale Rum Barrel Aged

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

Serve in Thistle

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750mL red wax. Pour is deep, tawny brune with a small thin film of yellow head. Speckles of lace. Nose is 100% infected given style: red wine, spicy oak, Flemish red characters. Not gross but clearly INFECTED. Spicy acetic acid, saltwater, grape jelly. Taste up front is heavy carbonatipn moving to sticky malt and mild red wine sourness. As it warms heavy metals and puppy breath come through. Ashy cigarette finish. Soy sauce and sticky malt all over. Technically a mess but not necessarily disgusting. If you were expecting "Rum Barrel" or "Scotch Ale" you will be wildly disappointed. A collision of flavors that cannot coexist. Not bad....not what I signed up for.

Light chocolate, some cherry and berry. The taste is moderately sweet, lightly bitter, very oxidized with lots if port and dark fruit, light acidity.

Bottle shared by GT2. Pours clear brown with an average, creamy tan head, medium retention with good lacing. Aroma is sour dark fruits, caramel and cookie malt, rum and oak notes with brown sugar. Flavor is sweet brown sugar and cookie malt, caramel with rum and oak notes, lightly sour with a sweet finish. Medium body, warmth and carbonation.

Bottle courtesy of GT2, thanks! Dark maroon color, small white head. Aroma of butterscotch. Taste is sweet vanilla, booze, caramel. OK.

UPDATED: DEC 2, 2011 Pours a murky brownish-amber color with a finger of off-white head. Strong smell of sour cherries. A bit of rum, wood, and vanilla, but the sourness is distracting. The sourness comes through on the palate as well, unfortunately. It really takes away from the malt flavors and overemphasizes the booze.

Poured pitch black with aromas of chocolate, nuts, and rum. Flavor has caramel, toffee, chocolate, and some vanilla. The rum treatment is amazing in this beer, the rum adds a nice layer of complexity to it, and made the beer really good.

Pours a nice black body with a full creamy head. Aromas were of dry cherries and dark chocolate with hints of rum. Tasted thick and malty with a solid spicy rum background; light hops and rich toffee notes satisfy the palate with a smooth finish. Not too intense, but rather one of the calm and drinkable brews that are barrel aged. Thanks to OmegaX for sharing this gem of a beer!

Nose is chocolate and vanilla with some definite booze shining through. Some fruity characters with a hint of caramel in the mix as well. Poured nice and dark brown, but not too dark. Thin light-brown head. Taste was fantastic. Loads of cherry/dried fruits with definite vanilla/caramel/chocolate notes. Booze all over the place. Rummmmmmm. Good stuff. Worth hoarding through all the people to get one.

Pours deep brown, thin head. Nose is booze, sweet caramel, dark fruits. Flavor is eathy and semi smoky, big alcohol notes, spicy rum notes.

Bottle. Clear brown pour with a small off white head. Smells like grape soda. Sweet cola-like flavors, sweet malt, and vinous grape and cherry notes. Not sure it’s what the brewer intended, but I actually prefer it to the base beer.