Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout

This bottle was a birthday gift from my most generous friend, OhioDad...Thank you Scott for letting me into the realm of the Dark Lord...THE BEER: I have been hearing about this beer since I first joined the sight...So expectations were very very high. I saved it for my 300th rating. The pour was thick and dark. Like pouring chocolate syrup! No head what so ever for me. The smell...GOOD GOD...It smelled like a Hersheys dark chocolate bar...I could have just sat around sticking my nose in it all night, but, well, that wouldnt have been nearly as fun as drinking it. THE TASTE: Yum. And WOW...Taste was soooo smooth. Not at all what I was expecting out of this monster. Sweet chocolate. Cherries. Coffee. Some figs, or prunes, maybe, followed by a giant alcohol kick. I swear I taste some sort of bourbon as well...This beer got tons better as it warmed...Or perhaps it was because I got warmer. I am not sure, but this was an absolutely delightful experience. I dont know that I would go stand in line for it for three hours like some of you, but I would certainly drink it any time! One of the best blended beers I have ever tried. 2007 bottle.

pours jet black and looks like dirty motor oil. no head on the pour but this stuff looks thick as thick can be. nose is huge lots of molasses vanilla bitter chocolate coffee and fortified wine notes. never would have guessed this is 13%. persistent flavor is nearly overwhelming deep and firm robustness with loads of hops to balance this massive stout. this stuff doesn’t leave lacing behind it leaves a sticky film on the glass. thick and viscous you could spend all day smelling this alone. heavy plum and cherry fruitiness that i didn’t expect to turn up. too bad i only got one of these. and at the same time extremely happy i had the chance to try it.

This was one fantastic beer. Amazingly thick and tasty. Lots of roasted notes, and thankfully the coffee didn’t really come out as as coffee, more as chocolate. One of the few times that hype has meet the beer. Excellent.

7/18/07
2007 Bottle courtesy of NachalmSie shared with Muenster, myself, and a couple other individuals. The pour is an intensely opaque and viscous ebony. It was as if darkness had a liquid form. We tried to find traces of light passing through it, but was unsuccessful. Even the edges of the glass where the liquid was most shallow against the light seemed not to let the light pass through. On my pour, there seemed to be a non-existent head. However, a few of the other’s glasses had some decent head to theirs. The head was a somewhat velvety dark tan that lasted quite some time and had some beautiful lacing. The aroma was intense in malt, cocoa, espresso, and hops with hints of vanilla, molasses, and a some smokiness. As it hit the tongue, your taste buds get overloaded with flavours—intense flavours of cocoa, toffee, a smoky and earthy espresso, molasses, vanilla, and hints of a darker fruit. As the temperature raised, the more robust flavours, such as the espresso, seemed to burst. At 13%, they’ve masked the alcohol quite well. The experience I had drinking this beer has been seared into my memory. Even as I write this, a couple months after my initial tasting, I remember the experience as if it were no more than a couple hours ago. I don’t think I even needed the notes I wrote at that time.
Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavour: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall impression: 19/20
Total Score: 4.5

DLD 2008
2007 Draught. Oh man, this is better than I remember it being. The vinous notes seem to be a little more evident than I remember, but the coffee, molasses, toffee, and cocoa flavours are a still little more dominant here.

DLD 2008
2008 Bottle shared by a random individual at Dark Lord Day that seemed to be grateful that I had a bottle opener. (Thank you, random person)
Just like 2007, 2008 pours just as viscous. The nose is way, way more vinous than last year’s. Cherry is a strong aroma here, followed by other dark citric aromas, then coffee, toffee, vanilla, and molasses. The flavour is also much, much more vinous. Cherries seem to be the flavour of dominance this year. I can’t say I like this as much as Dark Lord 2007, so far. I’ve yet to put some age into this. But it’s still mind-blowingly tasty.
Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavour: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall impression: 18/20
Overall Score: 4.4

5/13/08
2007/2008 comparitive tasting. Bottles shared with NachlamSie and muenster. Thanks NachlamSie for sharing another 2007.
Pour: The 07 seems to be a bit more viscous than the 08. The head in the 07 is also silkier. 08’s head wasn’t really that impressive as I was expecting. The bubbles were relatively big, and not nearly as fine as the 07. The head seems to completely diminish in the 07 after it sits for a little while. Afterwards, it’s somewhat impossible to swirl it enough to get the head back. The 08’s head doesn’t completely diminish but leaves enough around the edges so that after a vigorous swirl, you’re still able to resurrect the head.
Aroma: 07 seems to have a more well rounded aroma and some more noticeable alcohol. It’s also slightly more smoky. The aroma in the 08 seems to have citrus leaning more towards raisins while the 07 would be plums. Both also have prune qualities.
Mouthfeel:The 08 is noticeably less viscous than the 07.
Flavour: 08 is slightly smokier than the 07 and bit more bitter. The 07 is, however, more well rounded. 08 has more citrus notes than the 07. Cherries also appear in the 08, which I don’t find in the 07. As both of these sit, it’s actually becoming harder to figure which I like better. At pour, 07 actually tasted better than after it’s been sitting. After about 20 minutes, it has degraded in flavour, and I think a lot of this also has to do with the lack of head. I noticed with head, the 07 excelled. But when the head becomes nonexistent, the 08 seems to excel. Man, this is tough, but I actually think that I like the 08 more than the 07 now that it’s aged for a few months. I would have to up my rating for DL2008 up to 4.5, matching 07.

7/28/09
2008 Bottle. Yeah, I’ve rated this year two times already. Though, this is the first where I get to sit down and focus on the experience as I rate. It pours extremely viscous with a thin, quickly diminishing dark tan film on the surface as its head. It’s so black that held up to the light only the very most thinning edges allows the light to pass through. The beer sticks to the glass as it’s swirled, like teriyaki sauce. The aroma assaults the sinuses with very dry pungency. The two dominant aroms are berries, primarily cherries, and coffee. It’s also strangely effervescent. Vanilla is noticeable as well as a hint of alcohol. The brew doesn’t have much initial flavour, which doesn’t change at all as it sits on the tongue. Alcohol is what’s primarily noticeable. But as it passes the tongue the taste buds are assaulted with an intense amount of flavour. Coffee and cocoa explodes with very noticeable hints of cherries. Molasses gives some sweetness as vanilla adds a nice touch. Bitterness soon strikes and continues to escalate, emphasizing the hops presence and complementing the coffee and cocoa. And boy, this has a lot of hops. The finish is very abrasive and dry. Bitterness peaks, attacking the back of the tongue. Coffee and Cocoa diminish very slowly. Cherry flavour remains consistent and eventually starts to slightly outshine the coffee. Alcohol becomes more apparent as it warms the chest. This is a phenomenal beer. It’s so flavourful and robust that it’s actually a chore to drink the entire bottle. Your taste buds go on an overload half-way through the bomber.
Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavour: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall impression: 19/20
Overall Score: 4.5