Pours pitch black with a dark tan head.Nose shows complex roast, vanilla, bourbon, woody oak and chocolate fudge.Flavours include more roast, woody notes, vanilla, cocoa. Finishes nicely bittersweet.

330 ml bottle. Pours a thick black with almost no head. Aromas of licorice, vanilla, light bourbon, dark sugar, and roasted malts. Flavors of vanilla, light chocolate and nuts, light bourbon, sweet coffee and caramelized malts. Incredibly smooth of a bourbon barrel 11% brew - just the right amount of bourbon characteristics. Excelletn

Another variation on Emelisse’s imperial Russian stout, this time matured on Maker’s Mark bourbon barrels. Ink black, only a suggestion of a dark bronze brown visible on the edges but otherwise no light comes through; deep reddish beige, irregular, moussy head consisting of minuscule bubbles. Strong and inviting, perfumey aroma, dense and complex, releasing hints of chocolate sauce with cognac, home made caramel, blackcurrant, oaky tannins, generic bourbon, coconut, vanilla, bayleaf, cloves, beef broth, old sherry, elderberry syrup, freshly baked cake, pipe tobacco, walnuts, cigar ashes, wet leather, baked banana, raisins, coffee liqueur and pear brandy. Full, rich and sweet onset, candi syrup, a suggestion of coconut milk, candied fruits and raisins, round, thick and oily mouthfeel, slight sourish touch as in Russian sour cream, soft carbonation which fits this style best. A multi-layered, profound, abysmal maltiness underlies this, deeply chocolatey almost as if you’re drinking warm chocolate sauce made with cognac; a noble, pointy, spicy yeastiness announces the finish, a grand finale of chocolatey and caramelly malt sweetness slipping heavily into your throat, subtle and gentle roasted bitterness (more fondant-like than coffee-like), peppery hop bitterishness but again, subtle and gentle, and last but not least, the effect of the bourbon, in the form of dry woody tannins as well as a fair amount of booze, which heats the throat and tingles on the tongue, but nevertheless manages to avoid a burning or wry effect. It is this bourbon sensation which remains the longest after swallowing. This is an awe-inspring sipper: I admit I have a weakness for heavy (and certainly imperial) stouts as well as for barrel aged beers, but this one achieves perfect balance in all of its many flavour components. This is a world class gastronomic masterpiece if you ask me and may well be the best Dutch beer I tasted so far. I will enjoy this to its last drop!