Cigar City Capricho Oscuro (Batch 2)

Formerly brewed at Cigar City Brewing
Style: American Strong Ale
Tampa, Florida USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Bottle. Dark brown with a tanned head. The aroma is of roasted malts, dark chocolate, cookie dough and lots of bourbon. The flavor is basically more of the same. Very prominent bourbon character with notes of vanilla and almonds. Lots of malts, roasty and doughy. The end is warming and slightly bitter. Full bodied and smooth. A good beer.

67/450 from 2009 series...a nice ruddy brown pour, almost black..big, creamy beige head..bizarre aroma. slightly woody, with hints of tobacco, leather and an interesting vinous tartness that i have noticed in their batch 3 oscuro. not exactly the most inviting, considering the beers that are involved in this bottle. flavor is much better. big chocolate, oak, lactose, vanilla and a touch of that tartness noticed in the smell. it works better than the batch 3, but still doesnt seem to be a beer that meshes its components well

Bottle 358 thanks to laroja.. Pours dark dark brown with a brown head...Aroma is very tart...Flavor is nothing like the aroma, roasty with some dark chocolate...Interesting beer.

Bottle shared between the Chicago crew, thanks to Adam! Poured near black with a yellowish brown head that dissipated slowly. Aroma was complex with some tart fruits (cherries mainly), dark chocolate, coffee and a touch of whiskey. Flavor was similar as there was a bit of tart cherry at the start with dark notes such as dark chocolate and coffee becoming dominant and a bit of underlying whiskey, especially at the finish. Seemed a bit like a beer version of chocolate covered cherry.

Bottle from tarheels86. Bottle 107/450. Pours dark black with rimming, brown head. Licorice, vanilla, whiskey, and chocolate dominate the nose with lots of bourbon. Flavor is chocolate with vanilla, coffee, cherry and dark fruits and lots and lots of bourbon. A touch light on body. Very good.

From bottle courtesy of dpjuart. Very oaky, with vanilla, licorice, and bourbon. Rich aroma and musky, vaporous. Dark brown-black hazy with thin light tan lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation and lot of alcohol warming. Sweet, rich, malty with tons of bourbon flavor - a bit watery, however. Dates, raisins, oak, vanilla. Finishes bitter and nutty, fairly complex.

A: The pour is a muddled brown color with with very little in terms of head. S: There is a surprising amount of fruitiness to the nose, mostly of the stone variety. I also pick up plenty of barrel character in the form of vanilla, oak, and leather. T: A nice balance of the whiskey component and caramel, vanilla, and the subtle, underlying fruit flavors (a lot of cherries). On top of all that, a bit of roast and perhaps even chocolate. A really complex flavor profile. M: A medium bodied beer with a somewhat subtle carbonation that does prick the tongue a bit. D: A really interesting beer from CCB and one that I enjoyed quite a bit. Lots of different flavors going on here and not too much in terms of detectable booze.

Bottle 15/450 shared by someone at DLD 2k10. The beer pours to a black body with a light brown head. The aroma is sour cherry-like mash and light chocolate. The flavor is chocolate and tobacco. Some strange woody thing too. The palate is tart and has a long lingering flavor. I wasn’t impressed.

Terrific aroma of bourbon barrel vanilla and the super rich nuttiness of the Bolita and Big Sound. Deceptively dark roasted flavor is not something you see coming - testifying to the presence of 110K#2. A bit better than the sum of it’s parts - the barrel aging isn’t too heavy handed.

From deep murky brown-black depths emerge a thin cappuccino film ending along the sides of my glass for an equally sporty collar. She swirls with no lace, but considering how thick and heavy her pour was I’m not particularly surprised. A good head is as good as it is relative to the beer in question. Instead, I get bourbon, and lots of it. Oh sweet Gambrinus, how did CCB know my other weakness is bourbon. Rich bourbon sweetness is equally matched by fall fruits, spice, and a hit of heat in the back. Peach and apricot fruitiness intermingles with bakers’ chocolate, espresso beans covered in chocolate, burnt marshmallows, and wood. Tasty! But wait, I haven’t even tasted it yet; this is just the nose. Dry brown spices sprinkle about while her ABV warmth and bourbon continue to tickle the back of my nose. Red apple skins lay peeled before me even as toffee crunchies and caramel crunchies await that perfect apply marriage. Flavor in beer is one thing, but aroma is easily as important, if not maybe just a wee bit more. Already smitten, I perform the ultimate sacrifice of taste evaluation, I drink the beer. Ahh… bourbon. Lighter in body than her nose implied, my mouth dries almost immediately. As the top of my tongue dries, bourbon soaked wood barrels, nutmeg, and cinnamon sticks come to the forefront of my attentions. Rich and full, her warm touch is already working its magic while red apple, peach, and apricot skins refresh. Awaiting each turn of flavor is bourbon in all its vanillin, toffee, caramel, and chocolate concentrate glory. Hershey’s anyone? Vanilla bean forgoes subtlety, drowning instead its entirety into the bourbon beery mash currently seducing my palate. A final lick of dry roastiness and she is all about quaff and repeat. That’s ok; there is more than enough going on in her nose and palate to keep me more than happily occupied. But enough talking, there’s drinking to be done.

Once more, Cigar City Brewing doesn’t disappoint. Out of the three Capricho Obscuro batches, I have so far tasted the 2nd and 3rd, both equally delightful in their own unique and exciting way. Some may say one is better than the other, and having preferences is ok, but for me, both stand tall on their own. Now, to get my hands on the first batch, if I can. They are limited releases, after all…