4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle from the brewery. Finally get to rate the base stout for all of the other great stouts Cigar City has already released. Like the others, it pours out like motor oil. Straight sludge. Awesome. Aroma is cocoa with a lot of roast. Flavor is bold and uncompromising. Just a great impy stout with a chocolate chalkiness that works incredibly well. Delicious.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
75cl bottle purchased at CCB. Pours a sinister looking pitch black color with massive three finger dark chocolate head that settles slowly and heavily laces the glass. Aroma is chocolate, roast, toffee, caramel, molasses, some slight smoky and woody notes. Flavor is sweet and roasty with notes of burnt coffee, chocolate, cocoa, molasses, light earthy notes, light notes of floral hops in the background. Generally full body, creamy, silky mouthfeel and a roasted sweet malt finish. Another winner from CCB.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
750 ml bottle courtesy GoT. Pours a deep black color with some mahogany at the edges. A small, foamy tan colored head settles quickly leaving a soapy wash of lace behind in the glass. The aroma is very roasty with hints of dark chocolate, espresso, sweet toffee, and molasses. There is just a hint of dark fruit and hop bitterness as well. The flavor is full of dark and bittersweet chocolate, roasted espresso, rich toffee, and some earthy hop bitterness on the back end. Full bodied with a slick and smooth mouthfeel and balanced carbonation that leads to a bitter chocolate finish. Very easy to drink for being such a big beer. A really nice example of a Russian Imperial Stout.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Pours menacing dark black with a dark tan head. Nose is roasty: dark chocolate, spice, bitterness, chicory/ acidic coffee, and some barely there sweetness. Flavor is about the same: roasty as all-get-out, coffee bitterness, earthy, dark chocolate, cocoa, and badassedness. Flavor finishes and lingers with roasty bitterness. Very enjoyable, unique RIS.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle kindly shared by GodOfThunder. Pours sludgy black with a brown head. Nose is chocolate, spicy, some dark fruits. Roasty flavor, dark chocolate, a touch acrid, coffee, some dark fruits. Thick, smooth, nice medium-low carbonation.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Courtesy GoT. Black. Small light brown head. Huge beer. Roasty, bittersweet, dark fruits, dark chocolate, earthy hops, a bit of umami. Full body, smooth, mildly rich. Great Russian style imperial stout.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
750ml bottle, courtesy GoT. Pours just about black with just a hint of mahogany brown. A small, creamy head of dark brown foam hints at the massive malt bill. Lacing comes across as a thick wash, with a few wet spots remaining behind. The nose is massively roasted, with deep black chocolate malts and scorched caramel, anise, vanilla, and burnt barley. There’s a lightly sweet element from the caramel and hints of dark fruit, which is countered nicely by coffee roast and striking, earthy hops. Flavors are overflowing with dark, bittersweet chocolate, roasty-sweet caramel and espresso notes, big on anise and sharp, earhten hop bitterness. Thick, rich, and smooth, with a striking anise and coffee finish, the palate sports ample substance but comes across just a little sharp. Damn fine RIS.
4.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
750 ml bottle. Rich chocolate aromas, bitter, bakers chocolate, intense coffee, dark cherries in the aroma. Pours black with a brown head. Rich dark flavors, molasses, coffee, strong roasted malt flavors, rich chocolate, rich espresso, toffee in the flavor. Extremely smooth and rich.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
From the CCB Dinner at Kickback’s in Jax, FL. On tap I believe as I was served this from a pitcher. Poured a used motor oil black with a temporary, ultra-dark brown head. Quickly disappears. Aroma is off-putting: tons of overripe bananas and rotting fruits. I was not the only one at the tasting to mention these notes. Even though the food pairing was with a beef stew (the only dish from the eight course meal that I found sub-par), the taste is very much smoked salmon. There is some coffee and roast in there but I can’t get smoked salmon out of my head. Sort of a briny finish. We were given this at the same time as the 110K+OT Batch 2, which is on another level entirely. Drinking them alternately at the same time really brings out the flavors that make the 110K such an amazing feat and the Zhukov, well, poor for Cigar City standards.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Pours black with a one finger tan head that leaves good lacing. Aroma is full of dark fruits, roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, and caramel. Taste is the same as aroma with all the flavors in good balance. Full mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and well hidden alcohol. A damn fine brew.
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