Bottle at home, 2016 vintage. Pitch black pour with a fine-grained espresso head. Just perfect-looking. Compared to the previous vintage, it has a ton more roast in it, espresso, smoke, dark malts, licorice, dark chocolate and much more subtle but again, very well integrated barrel notes - light oak, light red wine, a bit of vanilla and bourbon. Medium to high roasty bitterness, light sweetness, full body, thick but not cloy. So much roast in this beer, making it quite distinct from other big US stouts. Loving it! Not sure if the extra roast is just the freshness or if this batch is slightly different. I might need to get a bottle or two and cellar it for a while. Bottle shared at a tasting, 2015 vintage. Pitch black pour with a fine-grained datk tan head that is slow to rise to the surface. Notes of coffee, chocolate, wine barrel, molasses, licorice, bourbon barrel, very subtle oak barrel sourness, dark cherry bitterness, a bit of rye. Very complex, well-balanced and rich in flavour.

Now there is complex and there is complex. Abyss is complex. A difficult find, well worth the wait. The label says bottled on 12/8/16. I pour into my best tulip glass and see a jet black body topped by a gorgeous chocolate-brown head that slowly dissipates.The scent is cocoa and I swear, mahogany wood if it smells. Interpret as you like. Follow on with a sip and I taste dark chocolate, caramel, dark red cherries and a liquor overtone. A nice bitter finish that sticks. Imperial stouts are a favorite, others have been great. This one is a little bit better. One to drink now and one to save. It has been a good day. A logjam of imperial stouts right behind Abyss. I have to raise its rating a bit. I look forward to my next try to see if it holds.

22 oz bottle. Pours black with a tan head. Molasses, cocoa, and coffee aroma, touches of vanilla, smoke, anise, bourbon. Dark cocoa and molasses flavor, coffee, anise. Touches of oak and bourbon. Thick and syrupy. A really good one.

Pitch black with a tall, extremely dark head. Powerful bourbon, molasses, roasted malt, chocolate, light anise. Full, oily body. Finish is sweet with some mild bitterness. Complex but coordinated. Very nice

Typical fresh The Abyss. Outstanding.

2015 vintage. Pours deep black from the bottle and leaves a creamy light brown head. The aroma is bourbon with a vinous undertone that reminded me of sherry. Taste is bittersweet with a rich cornucopia of flavors - bourbon, oak, molasses, licorice. The mix is very nicely balanced which is maybe the beer’s best asset. The molasses could make it too sweet, but it does not. The bourbon is present, but does not overwhelm the vinous notes or the roasted malt flavors. Heavy bodied, thick, rich with mild carbonation. Goes down velvet smooth with no rough edges or jarring notes. My glass just dissappeared. Seldom have I been so sad to finish a bottle. Dangerous stuff! Excellent!