Draft at Salud. Dark brown color beige head. Nice aroma of spiced vanilla beans cocoa coffee brownies. Taste is roasty spice cocoa bitter coffee. Delicious.

Bottle/Fest. A- Whisky, chocolate, booze, subtle mocha. A- Black color, black liquid, brown head. T- Whiskey, chocolate, oak. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, smooth finish. O- I do not get anything from the rye. The barrel aging is prevalent but the rye doesn’t stand out giving any additional notes. I would say this does live up to the hype though. Very good and I imagine it would hold up well. Really want to try the bourbon variant now.

500 ml bottle into snifter, bottled on 11/16/2015. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger dense dark tan head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, spicy rye, whiskey, marshmallow, smoke, char, light licorice/dark fruit, and oak/roast/charred earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roasted malt and rye whiskey barrel notes; with great strength. Some booziness in the nose as it warms. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, spicy rye, whiskey, marshmallow, smoke, char, light licorice/dark fruit, and oak/roast/charred earthiness. Moderate roast/char bitterness and rye whiskey/oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, spicy rye, whiskey, marshmallow, smoke, char, oak/roast/charred earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted malt and rye whiskey barrel flavors; with a nice roasted bitter/sweet and whiskey/oak spiciness balance; with no astringent flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness from roast/char bitterness and whiskey/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and full body; with a smooth, creamy/silky, sticky/chalky, and lightly slick balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is well hidden with a small warmth lingering after the finish; with minimal booziness. Overall this is an an incredible barrel aged Russian imperal stout! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted malt and rye whiskey barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Love this just as much as the Bourbon barrel version; but this felt more aggressively roasty, spicy, and dry; less fruity; and a bit more boozy from the barrel. A highly enjoyable offering regardless.