Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout (Bourbon Barrel Aged)

Brewed by Three Floyds Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Munster, Indiana USA

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: DEC 18, 2007 What a treat this was, pour thick as can be nose of humongous bourbon, some vanilla, chocolate, oak, and dark fruit. Flavor is even bigger on the bourbon but it comes across as very smooth and extremely tasty. A great beer that handled the bourbon very well.

Sampled on draft at Dark Lord Release Day 2006 at Three Floyd’s. Quite smoother than the last 2005 bottle of Dark Lord I sampled a few months ago. Bourbon notes are present in the perfect proportion. Great beer. Wish I had a bottle in the cellar.

My bias was that this would be overwhelmed by the oak and bourbon, but that was a foolish concern...The Dark Lord does not need his hand held. The ’05 vintage had mellowed a tad, not quite as aggresive in the alcohol burn of the finish. Some oak and bourbon notes, becoming more prominent as it warms. My only negative, and it is a small one, is the texture seems to have thinned out just a touch. But certainly a very fine example of the brewer’s art.

Fortunate to have this as my breakfast beer at Dark Lord day ’06. Very thick, almost spoon-worthy. Clung to the sides of the glass it got poured into. Very tight brown head with black appearance. Highly viscous mouthfeel. Temperature effects did accentuate the bourbon nature as time went by, but only enhanced the deepness of flavors in another direction. From chocolate-coffee-cherry to oak-leather-alcohol bitterness. Dark Lord is big enough to handle this and then some. Not sublime at all, but beautiful nonetheless.

GREAT BEER TO BEGIN WITH.AGE IT IN A BARREL AND THAT SEEMED TO GIVE IT A MORE SMOOTHER TASTE AND GREAT AFTERTASTE.WISH THEY HAD MORE ON TAP BUT WILL ENJOY IT WHILE IT LAST.TRY IT YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY CHEERS TO NICK AND THE GUYS THEY DID IT AGAIN

UPDATED: NOV 1, 2006 On tap: Aroma of chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, maple syrup, molasses, caramel, and a touch of roasted coffee. Pours a dark brown, virtually black, with a moderate tan head with good retention. Flavors of chocolate, vanilla, maple syrup, hint of caramel. Finishes with some light roasted coffee and moderate bourbon. Leaves a maple syrup and bourbon aftertaste. Lots of bourbon but not overdone as the base beer is big enough and flavorful enough to handle it. Big syrupy and oily mouthfeel.

Thick, robust black with a huge, charred brown head. The aroma was pretty sweet, full of bourbon, vanilla, burnt grains, light coffee, tons of cocoa, some light caramel, mild carbon/charcoal, woody tannins and more whiskey/alcohol. The body is big, syrupy and smooth as hell, with definite barrel-aged smoothness. The flavor is sweet with definite signs of whiskey-barrel aging; however, the charred malts and coffee elements still maintain some presence. I’m generally not a huge fan of whiskey-barrel aged anything, but this has been one of the better examples. The hugeness of the base Dark Lord is enough that it is probably the best candidate for long-term aging in these sorts of barrels. Pretty damn good.

UPDATED: MAY 4, 2006 Hand bottle from Mr Facto (kidding). The aroma was a bunch of oak and bourbon, smoke, and dark dried fruits. I Think the oak was the big player for most of the beer, until it had warmed enough. This it had tons of bourbon. Very syrupy an oily looking. Pitch black with a rich brown head. Coat the plastic cup it was served in nicely. Very well balanced. Everything blended quite nice. True to the original. Oak and vanilla. Roast and dark fruit flavors. Very rich, lush, and slick over the tongue. Long finish. Top notch.

Rich...rich...rich. Huge explosion of a thick dark head that sat atop the beer for the 1/2 hour thatit ook to sip through everything going on here. Fairl viscous notwithstanding having sat in a barrel of bourbon saturated wood for a year. Huge overtones of cherries, vanilla molasses and roasted coffee. Slight tang and bite from the everpresent bourbon flavor that linered long after the first sip. The aging allowed the flavors to meld with the coffee bite from the ’05 batch mellowing significantly. A true gem.

draft on Dark Lord day - Pours very black and opaque with a thin, brown, enduring head that leaves nice lacing. The aroma is of roast malts, coffee, and bourbon. The taste is overwhelming, coating your palate with its viscous goodness. The coffee flavored roast malts are the most dominate with bourbon notes and a strong hops balance kicking in too. The finish is somewhat hoppy and a bit too cloying. This is a superb brew.