Cigar City Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle pours black as night with a coffee tan head. Oily minerals and roasted malt. Vanilla dry roasted malt chocolate with bitter coffee undertones reminds me of a baltic porter a bit. 11% where the hell did that go? Fantastic beer.

750 ml thanks to drewbeerme. Dark oily black with a beige creamy head. Strong roast rich caramels, toffee, chocolate, and some ashy smoke. Red fruit is hidden underneath but the roasted malts dominates. Roasted malts and tobacco dominate the flavors. Some red fruit, caramel, and a slightly ashy finish. Becomes a little sweet, syruppy, and boozy when it warms up. Slick oily body. Despite this slight distraction, this is overall a really solid impy stout. well done.

750mL bottle, courtesy of wavers1. Thanks! Pours a very dark, chocolate-brown color; nice oiliness; slight, oily yellowish-brown bubbles. Lots of oily, dense dark chocolate and bitter mineral notes in the aroma; honestly, this is kind of reserved in the nose, overly charred and simple. Full mouthfeel: lots of dense oiliness, dark chocolate, and bitter mineral notes; nicely balanced imperial stout, hidden alcohol, smooth, but tight presentation overall. Lengthy finish: bitter chocolate, minerals, nicely roasted and charred notes; solid.

Poured into a snifter. Ink black and thick like motor oil with tan ring. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate. Taste is bitter and roasted. Creamy mouthfeel, quite smooth. Very nice!

Kuhnhenn WInter Soltice BA/RB tasting party. Thick RIS, thick chocolate. Pours dark brown with some head. Great tasting. A little chocolate in th aroma.

bottle thanks to Daknole, a nice pffsssttt as the bottle opens releases a nice mist and I start to pour. Now I know I have used the term "motor oil" and "thick as hell" before, but no other beer, NOT ONE can touch the consistency that this brew has. Pouring it in the glass I get the feeling that this beer could clog my arteries, it honestly looked like maple syrup going on pancakes. Once settled in the glass, a thin waterfall leaves a very dark and mean looking dark brown head. The aroma is unique to any other RIS nose I have had the pleasure of sniffing. Strong expresso, booze, dark fruits, and wood. Really no sweet aromas at all. It’s entirely dark, bitter, and brutal smelling. Flavors follow that thought process to a T. Bitter expresso, molasses, oak, and a dryness in the mouth from a nice hop character. There is balance, but it seems more of a balance of one form of bitter to another. There really isn’t a sweet note at all, and it’s really not a bad thing at all. This puppy is dark and dangerous. Thanks to Dak and CCB!

Bottle. A black beer with a dense dark tan head which left sheets of lace on the glass. Intense roasted aroma with big notes of chocolate and coffee. Medium to full body with a smooth mouth feel and soft carbonation. Flavor is hard roasted chocolate malt, dark chocolate, and roasted coffee with slight alcohol note. This brew is very smooth and balanced, good example of a CCB stout. Finishes slightly bitter and roasted.

Bottle shared by Shawn, thanks (I got another in the cellar): Opaque basically and creamy tan head with very good lace. The aroma has notes of blackstrap molasses, charred and toasty malts, hazelnut, chocolate, espresso, peat, leather, and pipe tobacco. The taste displays big dark twangy fruits and rich heavy malts with a molasses and chocolate overtone. Moderate herbal hop and coffee like bitterness. A bit of sea salt snap upon the finish, The mouth feel is oily and rich. Outstanding, the best of the CC beers I have had so far. Very much what I want in my Russian Imperial Stouts.

Bottle from Hawthorne’s in Philly pours a deepest brown, almost pure black. Creamy copper/stained oak colored medium-thick head fades slowly leaving no lacing. Dark chocolate mole, buffalo jerky, and red-hot coals waft into the nostrils. Bourbon, roast nuts, espresso beans, raisins, figs, rich dark chocolate, and oak meet the tongue head on. This beer contains minimal sweetness, with the thick and chewy malt base playing second fiddle to a remarkably easy drinking Imperial Stout character. Can’t wait to try this from the tap.

This an epic beer and not recommended for the faint of heart. The ABV alone should ward of the casual on looker, but if not, prepare for war. Bernie is on record stating that this is the best Imperial Stout that I have ever had and until proven otherwise it will remain at the top. The beer pours as black as oil and has a minimal amber colored head, but the crazy part is that as you prepare for the first sip all of your preconceived notions are erased and you find yourself with an Imperial Stout that is light bodied, robust, surprisingly easy and inviting to drink. The dark body of the stout never catches up to the overall intriguing and pleasant taste of the beer. Must have when found and a new age collection beer. One bomber is great, 2 bombers good luck!