Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

INCREDIBLY thick and dense. Almost entirely malt. Super smooth, super swampy but very, very sweet and smoked. Like tasting straight, charred, burnt molasses. Unlike any beer I’ve ever tasted. Vanilla-y, super dark, with equally dark head, which rises from the bottom, no matter how it’s poured. Undoubtedly overpowering to most beer novices. A single glass will last you an entire evening.

Pours pitch black. Dark, burnt mocha head - possibly the darkest head I’ve ever seen. So incredibly thick - a pour from eight inches doesn’t make a sound. Aroma is a punch in the face - chocolate, smokey meats, coffee, molasses, maple syrup. You won’t believe it when it hits your tongue. This is by FAR the thickest, most mouth-and-throat-coating beer I’ve ever had the pleasure to try. Un... real. Dessert in a glass. Just incredible. All the notes from the aroma come through in the flavor, with a hint of bitter hops. A great friend of mine took a sip, adopted a horrified look and proceeded to take a few timid steps back from the glass (and proceeded to rate it a 4.8). This is as close to scary as a beer could be, and I swear it feels sinful drinking it. What an appropriate name. I had no idea a beer could be anything like this - puts other beers claiming to be thick to shame. Seriously. No words. I couldn’t take more than a glass... but for that glass? Unbelievable. This beer inspires masochism. And possibly diabetes.

Blind Tasting (unknown year, pretty sure it was 07) Heavy aroma, hints of coffee, chocolate, little molasses and redfruit. Chocolate with huge boozy flavor, thick and bread powdery. Sweet with a sweet clingy aftertaste. Solid beer, with oily consistency, consistency of thick hot chocolate.

thanks to Sparky27 for the bottle! My new highest rated! Pours Black, no brown around the edges, no light passing through, BLACK. Nice dark brown head, mostly diminishes though. Nice webbed lacing. Aromas of chocolate, molasses, vanilla, and coffee. Flavors very much the same, coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, decent bitterness, and not to sweet. This is easily the thickest beer I have ever had, It was like drinking used motor oil, and I LOVED every second of it. I had this side by side with Darkness, and the DL definitely prevailed! Thanks again Eric for sending me my new number 1!

[2006] Pours thick, inky black color. Kind of scary how it clings to the glass. Minimal foam retention, however. Aroma of sweet chocolate and roast malt, with some slight sherry (oxidation) notes present. Flavors are packed full of chocolate, coffee and roasted malt with some good esters to balance things out. Cherry, dates and sweet fruits come through in the finish. Some solid residual sweetness towards the end, and no real evidence of the alcohol content.

Gold wax coating (2006). Ridiculously hefty motor-oil viscosity, thin brown head that rapidly dissipates. Aroma was intense with heavy amounts of chocolate, coffee, dark dried fruits, alcohol, and molasses/brown sugar. Flavors held up the same intensity. Loads of chocolate, coffee (espresso), molasses, as intense as you can get. Hints of some woodiness, a bit of the vanilla, some other cake-like notes. Alcohol was, to my surprise, well-hidden underneath the array of flavors. The body was super-viscous and full, with a very sticky quality that yielded to a softer, drier finish (with some stickiness remaining). This beer is hardcore. I couldn’t drink it very often, but damn... it really is something special.

Black Wax - 2008. The pour was dark and thick in appearance with little head to speak of. Armoma of malt, vanilla, fruity molasses. Taste was awesome and full of complex flavor - mouthfeel was very thick. Awesome beer that hides the ABV very well. I tried this with BIGBANG along with the Abyss. very comparable but I liked the sweetness of this beer best.

First of all, my church pastor drank half of this with out my permission on Christmas Eve....lucky for him I was feeling generous. This is probably the thickest beer I have ever sampled, both in the pour and mouthfeel. Aroma is a blast of coffee, dark chocolate, and roasted malt. Alcohol presence is subtle at first. Mouthfeel is like drinking motor oil. Flavor explodes on the palate with a complexity of coffee, dark chocolate, dark fruits, dark sugars and roasted malts. Not so much in your face, and not really that complex, but flavorful nonetheless. Finish is not that bitter. the only disappointment with this beer is that I found it too be not as complex as other Imp Stouts, and I don’t necessarily agree with the hype of the beer.