Cigar City Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout - Bourbon Barrel-aged

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: Imperial Stout
Tampa, Florida USA

Serve in Snifter

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Tap at the Rattle n’ Hum Cigar City event. Deep black pour. The aroma is primarily pipe smoke and cedar chest. The smoke and wood spice get in the way of anything else that may be in the nose. The flavor reveals more: chocolate malt, coffee, and pine hops. Never got a hint of bourbon. Moderately creamy body. The wood spice lingers. Very woody and delicious.

Draft at Rattle N Hum Cigar City event. For a bourbon barrel aged beer this one could of used a hell of a lot more aging. I was getting no bourbon in either the aroma nor the flavor. Overall a great Impy Stout but as a bourbon barrel aged beer this one was a lousy example.

Cigar City Takes NYC event at Rattle ’N’ Hum. on Tap.This thick mouthfeel, with bourbon aromas. Still very good, but you must like bourbon.

On tap at Rattle N Hum for their Cigar City event. This and the BA Hunahpu’s were first on my list to try and both were great. Pours black, viscous, thick dense dark tan head. Faint wood, bourbon on the nose, rich deep chocolate and roast. Smooth chocolate mousse. Long crisp bitterness, lingering roast on the finish. Another delicious one.

Had on tap at Rattle N Hum. Aroma is of heavy bourbon , along with bitter chocolate, sweet malts and caramel. Taste is heavy in bourbon and suprisingly sweet. Lots of roasty malts and some chocolate, and possibly a hint of some candied green apple. Finishes sweet and bourbony with a hint of warming alcohol

UPDATED: FEB 18, 2010 The aroma is unexpectedly light bourbon (which is good, the bourbon doesn’t overpower the beer), chocolate, roasted malts. The appearance is black, brown head. The flavor is chocolate, booze, roast coffee. The finish is roasty, and a light warming boozy flavor. The mouthfeel is creamy, medium/thick to thick mouth feel (not as thick as I would have thought). Great beer.

Weird quart growler bottle courtesy of bret27. Had just after the regular Zhukov, and definitely an improvement in my eyes. Still a huge and not very drinkable beer, but the barrel aging has taken just enough of the edge off to make it pleasant all around, and add interesting wood an bourbon notes to the flavor and aroma. Super black appearance, as with the regular version, same none-more-black (well, weird ashy brown) head, though smaller, undoubtedly due to the growler treatment versus bottle-conditioning. Just a great aroma, with bourbon complimenting intense dark chocolate and roast. Not as ashy as the regular version. Most of the intensely bitter and roasty flavors carry over from the regular version, but are tempered a little by a sweeter bourbon quality. Still has a touch of astringency and alcohol, but it isn’t too detracting. Thick with lower carbonation. The bourbon is a nice element, while letting the base beer still do most of the talking. For me, it was just enough to really open things up, though drinkability was still low.

Bottle courtesy bret27. Pours black as ink with a super-dark brown head, might even be darker than regular Zhukov. Aromas of chocolate cookies, oak, and molasses, with a bourbon character that doesn’t take over but rather complements everything else. Flavor is still very roasty and bitter but it’s toned down compared to the base beer, which is exactly what the base beer needed. Unsweetened chocolate, oak, smooth bourbon. Mouthfeel is still rather astringent. Thick and oily on the palate. A huge, huge beer.

On tap at CCB at the mini grand opening. It pours inky void with forever mocha head. I mean I let this sit for over an hour before drinking and it still had plenty of foam left. The aroma has robust notes of bourbon, oak and a lighter amount of straight up bourbon booze. Well behind those barrel notes are dark roastiness and dark chocolate. The taste is rich and velvety and pervasively barrel forward for sure. There’s boozie bourbon, hints of vanilla and robust oak covering up mild background notes of dark velvety chocolate and dark roasted malts. It is hard to believe the barrel was able to overcome this much malt roastiness from this batch of Zhukov’s, but it did. Personally I’d prefer a bit less barrel time but this was a tasty experience.

Draft at gand opening of Cigar city tasting room. Poured near black with a tall, dense dark brown head. Nose is big in bourbon notes, also roasted malts, chocolate, toffee, and wood. Full body with a creamy, slightly oily or viscous mouth feel and a good amount of carbonation. Flavor is rich with roasted malt notes, lots of chocolate, and molasses, vanilla, wood, light coffee and a nice amount of Bourbon. Bourbon is pretty well balanced with the roasty malt flavors not overpowering at all. Finishes roasted with lingering bourbon and a touch of warming alcohol.