Tap at Draught 55. Very dark pour smaller beige head. Nose is roasted malt and espresso. Taste of coffee beans, some mocha, earth, grass, very little alcohol heat. Smooth palate. Really hides abv dangerous stuff.

Pours a deep dark brown, nearly black, from a bottle, thin hot-chocolate colored head, almost no lacing. Flavor of baking chocolate, maybe a little raspberry. Hit of bitterness toward the end. Very good beer.

Draught @ Draught 55. Inky dark brown with small tan foamy head, mocha aroma, medium carbonation, bitterish mocha taste with alcohol undertones, medium bitter finish. Well masked alcohol content.

Sample glass at Two Brothers Tavern, Middlebury, VT.
This was poured into one of those pilsener looking sample glasses (yes, so take with grain of salt to an extent), here’s the rest.
The appearance was a black color with a thin glaze of a cap of a tan head. Quickly dissipated, no lacing.
The smell had a good amount of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, black licorice, roasty coffee beans, and a delicate amount of dark fruits.
The taste was mainly sweet through the previously mentioned flavors. Roasty tones make a decent effort and slide through the dark fruits to blend into the aftertaste, decent. Semi-sticky fruity to licorice finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a decent sessionability about it. Weird that a 10%-er has a slightly crushable feel to it and its on tap, hmm...leaves me wondering.
Overall, well, its not a bad RIS, just comes across a bit lighter than expected. Good aroma and flavor, could come back to it for that.

Bomber from State Line. Near black, thin creamy tan head. Fair retention. Aroma of chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, hints of leather. The taste is cocoa, dark fruits, vanilla, mild roast and green hops. Thin-medium bodied. Solid.

Draft. Dark maroon brown head. Aroma of peppery dark cocoa. Taste is bitter dark choc dipped in burnt espresso. Decent.

Sampled on draft at the House of 1000 Beers this beer poured a black color with a medium sized foamy brown head that lingered and left good lacing. The aroma was cocoa, coffee, roasty malts and vanilla. The flavor was roasty and toasty with moderate coffee, cocoa and vanilla elements. Long finish of toasty malts, coffee, cocoa and vanilla. Turns a bit dry and woody at the very end. Thick and creamy body. Very nice.

12 oz. bottle that I purchased @ Nikki’s Liquors, Providence, R.I. for $2.99. Vintage is 2012. Quickly dissipating tan head that died to nothing. Aroma is roasted malts, dark fruit and light vanilla. Tastes of decent amounts of roasted chocolate malts producing notes of coffee and raisins. Secondary flavors of light smokiness or burnt wood and light vanilla. Texture is on the oily side with a slick texture. ABV is masked after it’s cellared a bit like this bottle. For the price I paid for a bottle or what you will find for a 4 pack; it really is worth a try. Not going to blow your mind with flavor for the style, yet it still is a well-made imperial stout.