Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout (Bourbon Vanilla Bean)

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

Serve in Snifter

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chcocolate. bacon. hops. vanilla. oak. lil smoke. bourbon. so smooth. maybe perfect.

had this DLD 08’. pours super black. almost like an oil black. aroma of coffee and vanilla.

had this on DLD 08 @ The FFF pub..I think I was the 5th person through the door when it opened...This one was the main target on my list even though I had the Bourbon Barrel and the Vanilla at the same time just so I didnt half to wait for the attention to come my way again.. The Vanilla was very present up front and was noticeable immediately from the first sip. There was a thick mouth feel,very thick almost the consistency of drinking thick pear juice..Pitch black ,over due motor oil change black with a small dark tan quickly dissipated almost non existent head..The taste was awesome to say the least..I have never had anything like it and probably never will again. Surprisingly easy to drink ,but this one is a sipper for sure, just goes down leaving you wanting another. I did notice the pours coming from the bar were getting a little bigger as other cups and glassware came out..They started with 4-5oz pours and quickly started going to 6-8oz pours so I grabbed 2 to go for my buddies in line outside and shared with them Might as well forget about putting this one on your want list it was a 1 barrel thing on that day and is gone..It was $6 a pour and if I had a bottle and the $ I could have probably filled a growler..But my $ was spoken for from the bottled Dark Lord..Long live the mid evil madness!

(Draught) Pours an opaque black body with a small brown head. Aroma of vanilla, coffee, oak, chocolate, bourbon, and roastiness. Flavor of vanilla, toffee, roasted malt, chocolate, nuts, and molasses. Yummy!

Much Much better. Draft at the Great Taste at the posted time. You had to look at the little cardboard sign above in the tent Joel :)! Much the same as the regular version but the vanilla beans added a great counterbalance to the sweetness of the regular Dark Lord. Mouthfeel was a bit thicker on this one which I found enjoyable.

Great Taste of the Midwest 2008
Luckily I stumbled by (yeah by this time of the day, I probably was close to stumbling) at the right time. FFF did not let us know when they would be pouring this, not the classiest move IMO. But onto the beer. This was really rich, obviously vanilla, chocolate, and the complexity of regular DL present. Really really rich, and by this time of the day (late in the festival), my palate was getting shot from sampling a lot of Impy stouts. I’d love to try this with a fresh palate sometime. Good, but the timiing could have been better for me.

Tasted on 4/26/08 at DLD

This beer was black as night with no head at all. A very small, dark brown ring of foam lined the glass. This smells incredible, coffee and chocolate with a great vanilla smell taking over everything. The taste combined with the mouthfeel make this like an amazing chocolate and coffee milk shake with the right amount of vanilla to balance out the flavors from the regular dark lord. After sharing this sample and the oak aged dark lord with a friend I felt pretty good. An exceptional beer.

UPDATED: DEC 31, 2012
Name: Dark Lord
Date: August 09, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Great Taste
Appearance: black, wispy brown head
Aroma: sweet chocolate and vanilla aroma with lots of bourbon
Body: huge sticky body
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, lots of vanilla sweetness, molasses, touch of roasted

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 10/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **** /4

Name: Dark Lord
Date: October 28, 2012
Mode: Bottle
Source: Dark Lord Night III
Vintage: 2011
Appearance: black, wispy tan head, bits of lace
Aroma: huge sweet vanilla aroma backed by rich chocolate
Body: think creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate and vanilla flavor, dark chocolate bitterness, vanilla adds a thick creamyness, touch of peppery character

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **** /4

Small sample on tap at Great Taste of the Midwest on 8-9-2008. Superb aroma of vanilla (duh) and cherry, like a cherry cordial chocolate candy. The smell is the best of both an imperial stout and a barley wine. Pours dark brown with sable head. Looks like melted chocolate. Delicious taste features vanilla and a lot of oak in addition to the world-class imperial stout taste of standard Dark Lord. Full body; thick. Soft and silky in the palate. I love this beer! It was the best of the fest and, yes, better (slightly) than regular Dark Lord. I just wish I had better notes on it, but it was late in the day after a lot of big beers. What can you do, other than dream of this great brew?

great taste. Black pour with a small tan head. Vanilla and chocolate dominated the aroma. Flavor was vanilla, coffee, toffee, caramel and maple syrup. Viscous, syrupy sweet. 3 oz was plenty but man was it good.