 Nate (2253), Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA
Nov 9, 2006
From bottle. The aroma seems to have two strata. The first contains the elusive and wonderful notes of vanilla, coconut, oak, caramel, buttered rum, plum and spun sugar. The second has aromas of wet hardwood, cherry, licorice and toffee. It’s vaporous enough to affect the sinuses. I’ll have to set one down for a year or so and see how it matures. Very fruity essence. Dark black and oily with thin, dissipating brown head. Slight lacing. Heavy velvety body with medium carbonation. Big alcohol warming. It starts out sweet, with a rich maltiness laced with vanilla and rum, burnt coffee, molasses and caramel. There is a distant woody-oaken character here and following up of smokiness. After the initial sweetness, there comes a wallop of dry tannic bitterness. Good hoppiness but also a rough chalkiness or astringency that might have come from the barrel. Don’t know if it was raw oak or an old bourbon barrel. There’s also a big alcohol presence and you feel every bit of that 9.0%. The after has a nice licorice and nutty bitter flavor, though is still a bit harsh. I bet this will smooth out with a year or two of cellaring. Otherwise, this is a real treat, and the best Marzoni’s beer to date.
sliffy (1951), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Mar 22, 2008 Cleveland tasting 3/15 Bottle: Pours black with a tan head. Aroma, roasted notes, chocolate, some vanilla, and some slight woody notes. Flavor, chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, bourbon, vanilla.
1FastSTi (2402), Glendale, Wisconsin, USA
Feb 21, 2007 Bomber via Bill. 2005 vintage. The beer looks much the same as the non-barrel aged version. The aroma is also very similar, except it has some sweet vanilla notes. The flavor, non-surprisingly, is also much the same but has strong vanilla laden bourbon. A bit young yet (glad I have another bomber). The one significant change from the regular version is the liquid caramel palate that was not apparent before. Nice texture, but I liked the standard version better.
MIBRomeo (1889), Wisconsin, USA
Feb 20, 2007 2005 vintage.. thanks to Blake for sharing.
Black pour creamy tan head w/ some good lacing. Still dominated by alcohol in the aroma now some bourbon notes as well rather than just alcohol chocolates and a touch of vanilla. Still a 7 but a better aroma than the non BA stuff. Palate is a bit thinner than the non BA part. Flavor lost a lot of the great roast to it.. now its is mostly sweet vanillas and bourbon some chocolates lost that french silk part. Very nice but not as good as the non BA version.
JCapriotti (1378), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Feb 20, 2007 2005 vintage, thanks to Blake. Reddish dark brown, sparse creamy light-tan head.
Bourbon soaked chocolate malt aroma. Licorice. Cologne, brown ale malt.
Flavor is also bourbony! A little too much so, but some palate acclamation makes it a bit better. Chocolatey malt, vanilla, licorice.
Pretty good, a little hot. Very drinkable nonetheless
acrdz (4364), Boulder, Colorado, USA
Dec 1, 2006 Pours regular black and dark brown colored body with a thin, filmy dark tan head which dies quickly. Lacks lacing and heft in the appearance. Nose is moderately strong bourbon and butter, some light char and wood, that’s pretty much it. Body is a bit too thin, flavor is a little thin and tinny, with more char, wood, bourbon and especially butter in there. Can’t say I’m too impressed by this one, it seems a cheap knock-off of Full Sail BA Black Gold and Otto’s BA Jolly Roger, two of the better bourbon-aged stouts. Drinkable, not bad at all, but not one of the better barrel aged beers. Seems like just another ’me too’ beer.
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