8.2

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

750 ml waxed. Bottled last August. Aroma has notes of coffee, dark chocolate, toffee, vanilla, hint of dark bread. Pours very dark brown to black with a one finger beige head that falls into a big bubbly ring after a minute. Taste is bittersweet like dark chocolate and coffee minimally sweetened. Just a slight bourbon influence here, but it's enough to elevate the base brew to close to sublime. 8,4,8,4,18 = 4.2

My review for the original, un-barrel-aged version nearly six years ago: On tap at Paddy’s. Pours black with a tan head with good retention. Taste is pretty bitter for style, roasty, coffee notes in flavor. This is an excellent straight imperial stout. I wonder what would happen if they barrel aged this. 7,5,8,5,17 = 4.2

That's funny. Even though I gave both the same score, after having drank the original several times since 2016, I know for a fact the barrel aged version is in another class. Maybe I overrated the original, or I'm underrating this version, I dunno. Just thought it was interesting!