Bottle shared at Anchorage Feb ’15 Tasting: Poured a black brown with a bubble head. Aroma was coconut, bourbon, and nice sweetness. Taste was an alcohol burn with vanilla, bourbon, and dark fruit. Super hot!

(375ml bottle @ VilleValla Pub, Linköping, Feb 6 2015) Pours basically black with a small tan head fading quickly to a ring. Aroma has lots of bourbon spirit notes, some vanilla/wood too, some pretty intense fudge/toffee malts, almost creamy, fruity prune-type notes, a bit of nutty toasted malt too. Palate loaded with malt, toffee/fudge/raw sugar/milk chocolate/toast, and also lots of bourbon flavour. Vanilla oak and prunes as well, fleshing it out and giving just a little fruit acidity. Quite sweet overall but with some spicy whiskey alcohol heat towards the finish drying it out, and subtle roast too for bitterness. Full bodied, creamy and oily, with soft but active carbonation. Big big beer. Warming and maybe a touch too sweet to be really drinkable. Total sipper. Hides its alcohol well. It’s definitely a good one, but really calls for a cold night and a fire.

375 ml bottle poured into a snifter. Black with a finger of brown head, slight brownish hue on the edges. Aromas of bourbon, chocolate, oak, a bit of licorice. Tastes of bourbon, dark fruit, chocolate, oak, light caramel/syrup. Full body with a dry and slightly warm finish. Oily, creamy mouthfeel. Low carbonation. Nice stuff.

375 ml bottle into snifter, vintage 2013A bottling. Pours dense pitch black color with a small fairly dense tan head with poor retention, that reduces to a ring of lacing fairly quickly. Some slight spotty lacing clings on the glass, with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, raisin, prune, caramel, toast, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, oak, and roast/oak earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roasted malt and bourbon barrel notes; with good strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, caramel, toast, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, oak, raisin, prune, and roast/oak earthiness. Slight roasted bitterness/spicy alcohol on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, roast, caramel, toast, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, oak, and roast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity and robustness of dark/roasted malt and bourbon barrel flavors; with an awesome malt/barrel balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a very creamy and lightly slick/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is fairly well hidden with only a small warming present after the finish. Overall this is an awesome barrel aged imperial stout. All around great complexity and balance of dark/roasted malt and bourbon barrel flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.

[26 Jun 2014] 2010 vintage on tap at the Brick Store Pub 17th Anniversary. Pours black, with a thin head. the aroma is milk chocolate, black cherries, caramel, and toffee. Nice, candy sweetness, with a mild, pleasant sourness. Medium to heavy body, oily, and a little watery. This keg might’ve been a little infected, but it was still delicious. [24 Apr 2023] 2011 vintage on tap at Capone's. Black, with a thick, rocky, tan head. The nose is walnut, dark chocolate mousse, nutty and salty sherry, and cranberries. Surprisingly dry and malty. Heavy, chalky, and sticky. Beautiful, somehow dry and decadent. Deep, very complex, and delicious.

How: Bottle.
Where: From Dranken Geers, had in a hotel room at Grand Hotel, Stockholm.
Appearance: Black colour with a small tan head.
Aroma: Roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla, coffee.
Body: Medium body, low carbonation.
Flavour: Coffee, bourbon, vanilla, chocolate.

Appearance= oil. Pitch black, nothing escaping at all. Not much head, just a mocha coloured rim around the edge. Alcohol legs definitely detectable. Aroma- vanilla, leather hints, a bit of coffee but more chocolatey , burnt sugar, toasted coconut, bitter chocolate, bourbon, boozy, cocoa hints, fudge. Smells lovely. Taste- intense, and big flavours hit you. Lots of chocolate, burnt treacle, the bourbon then comes through with vanilla hints, plenty of bitterness, chocolate fudge cake, sticky and slightly oily mouthfeel, with some alcohol warmth- you can tell it’s a big beer. The finish lingers for ages and clings to the mouth. Some espresso characteristics towards the end. Very viscous (unsurprisingly). The carbonation is quite soft, and maybe a bit more would help things along, but this is pretty much the only criticism. This is a superb brew.