Sledge Jr (2720), Omaha, Nebraska, USA Feb 2, 2006 In the bottle. If you can get beyond the immense alcohol inhalation experience, you will see a jet black brew with a dark brown head. The head, like all other matter, cannot survive the solubilizing excesses of the ethanol solvent. It smells exactly like dark malt extract BEFORE you dilute it to brew up a homebrew stout. It almost pours as thick as well. The sweetness is beyond sweet, but the alcohol burn needs it. I’m afraid this beer is fixing my innards. God, but it is a great way to die! Coffee, honey, chocolate, molasses all abound, but the killer aroma and flavor is BOURBON. If you took the Rogue Chocolate Stout, fed it steroids for a year , and then locked it away in a Bardstown distillery until it was old enough to drive, this is the monster you would have created. My palate has been righteously defeated. I am looking forward to updating this entry 5 years from now. By then, BCS will be old enough to legally drink other alcohols.
flatmatt (96), Northville, Michigan, USA Oct 7, 2008 12 oz bottle, 2007 vintage. Opened it up for the second presidential debate. Pours black with no head. First aroma is alcohol, but after that there are deep sweet aromas of dark chocolate, bourbon, dark fruits and cherries. Flavor is sweet chocolate with some roasty coffee, vanilla, bourbon, smoke. The alcohol is there as well, but it’s mostly a pleasant backup to the other flavors. Syrupy palate. This is a great beer with huge flavor. Two_Dudes (23), Louisville, Kentucky, USA Oct 7, 2008 Bottle dated 7/3/06 - Pours black as night with a motor oil type body. NO carbonation. Nose is all alcohol and some candied fruit. Palate is dominated by alcohol and some bourbon...still!!! Good, but had to share a 12 oz bottle with the wife. Couldn’t have had much more than that. Vac (2253), San Diego, California, USA Oct 1, 2008 Pours with a black body topped by a thin, brown head wtih a little lacing. It’s sweet and full of vanilla and bourbon notes as well as a slight hint of roast. The bourbon notes are overpowering and take away from the stout flavor istead of complimenting it. Full bodied, smooth and warming. Pawola22 (94), Kansas City, Missouri, USA Sep 28, 2008 2007 12oz bottle. Pours a very oily looking, jet black. A dark and runny lacing after a minimal chocolate head disappears very quickly. A very strong aroma, I can smell it from at least an arms length away. Lots of vanilla and bourbon. More sweet than roasty although its still present. Woody/oak, dark chocolate caramel, and a mellow fruit background. Fantastic. Mouthfeel is very slick, oily, and smooth with a medium feel. Taste is incredible. Immediate abundance of flavor including chocolate, sweet caramel malts, oak and bourbon casting, and a vanilla backing. The middle kicks in with a very balancing bitterness and a sweet, mellow fruitiness resembling prunes. It finishes incredibly balanced and easy, drying very slowly throughout the aftertaste. Leaves a nice lingering bitterness and a delightful alcohol warmth unlike any beer I’ve had. VERY warming. Overall, this is a fantastic imp. stout. I would love to compare this to Bells Expedition. Great balance, love the bourbon oak smell/taste, fantastic finishing quality. Its a real temptress. fiver29 (327), Strongsville, Ohio, USA Sep 24, 2008 Bottle pours pitch black with a thin chocolate looking head. Aroma is amazing. Bourbon, chocolate, bourbon, roasted malts, vanilla, and did I mention bourbon? Has a very dense and heavy mouthfeel with some carbonation. Flavor is just what the doctor ordered. Hot bourbon, roasted malt, chocolate, caramel, dark roasted coffee, and alcohol. Overall, this is one of my favorite beers. This is an over the top, bourbon in your face brew. This is what makes it one of my favorites. Its also its biggest weakness. I really like the over the top bourbon, but enjoy a more balanced bourbon flavor even more.
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