Dark Horse Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th Imperial Stout

Brewed by Dark Horse Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Marshall, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Pours black with a tan head. Smells of roasted chocolate and bourbon. Taste is the same with some oak and vanilla. Great mouthfeel and silky smooth with a bite on the end. Great beer.

Bottle shared by oRos. Pours very dark brown with a decent light brown head and a treacle and bourbon aroma. There is an intense coffee and treacle flavor with a lots of bourbon and a warm alcohol trail.

Bottle from trade. Aroma is vanilla and oak. Pours black with Brown head. Taste is lots of oak and bourbon. Has the coffee and chocolate great beer.

Bottle shared with Brian, pours black dark brown with light head and lacing. Notes of dark cocoa, roasted malt, caramel, molasses, vanilla, and heavy coffee grounds. Mouth is pretty creamy, not nearly as sticky as I expected. I would agree this is better then most of the recent dark lord releases.

Agreeing with OmegaX - Dark Horse has a special way with stouts. The bottle poured an oily black body with very little carbonation. It smelled like bourbon, tootsie rolls, cherries, raisins, and topped off with a pleasant oak all around. The texture was just right and aided the smooth chocolate qualities of this brew. Undertones of dark chocolate, coffee, cherries and soft bourbon-oak notes tickle the senses. I could drink this stuff all damn day. If only that wouldn’t kill me...

A nice impy stout. Dark Horse has a way with stouts. Aroma is big bourbon, sweet vanilla, roast, some molasses, and chocolate. Pour is thick and oily jet black. Flavor is similar. Tons of vanilla, sweet fudge and some roast. Bourbon is well balanced with the true flavors of the beer. Great stuff.

2012 bottle from Jim M. Thanks! Poured into my LA Teku. A: Pours in an inky, almost treacly manner to the glass. Fills up with a solid dark mocha head which fades quickly. Some carbonation bubbles are disturbing the surface of this black puddle. Legs are thick, thick, thick. N: Hearty bourbon with a big chocolate and espresso background. Vanilla and caramel and oak. Coconut and more fudge. Brown sugar and some molasses. Big sweet sugars here. Some rye and oatmeal. T: Very, very sweet. Bourbon appropriates the top level here and adds a sweet sting on top of a very pronounced sweet malt body. There’s a little bit of earth, pine and spice from what I assume are the hops and there’s some additional roast. This has some surprising balance, though it’s still a heavy confection. Does have a salty soy sauce aspect. M: Super boozy, but it’s got a wonderfully filling mouthfeel. Other RIS’s should pay attention to this aspect, it’s the best I’ve had outside Apple Brandy Hunahpu’s. O: I wish I had split this bottle because it’s absolutely going to sit in my stomach, but at the same time, I don’t think I’m going to get sick of it. This might get a few more points if it turned down the bourbon heat, but at the same time, it’s done an excellent job of making both the bourbon and the stout distinct, so what else can you want?

2012 bottle from Deyholla - thanks! Pours inky black with a medium dark brown head that dissipates slowly and laces nicely. Aroma is rich, woody, dark roasted malt, molasses, chocolate, tobacco, bourbon. Bourbon comes more to the forefront in the flavor, rich, roasty, chocolate, coffee grounds, boozy. Medium sweet, medium finishing bitterness. Full body, creamy mouthfeel. Warming finish. Quite a nice beer.

Bottle from Austin, thanks! Poured into a tulip. Black pour with a thin head. Nose is chocolate, vanilla, malt, slight bourbon. Taste follows with some ash/smoke and a lot of chocolate maltiness. Sweet and full bodied. Very good.