12 oz Bottle, Batch 8 from Darrel at 2017 RIS tasting. Finally one that blew my hair back. Black, slick pour, sparse tan head. Slightly sweet aroma leads into a full, robust taste that overwhelms. So tasty and smooth, that you don’t notice the 16.2% ABV except for some gentle warmth.

355ml bottle from Elizabeth Station. Bottled on Oct-2016, batch #12, 14.6% ABV. Pours a very dark brown with a brown head. Aroma is some berries notes, roasted malt, slightly smokey with some mazut-ish notes. Taste is sweet, oily, with roasted malt, leather and booze notes. Sweet, dark fruits, smokey and mazut-ish aftertaste. Good stuff.

12 ounce bottle into snifter, Batch 1 bottled January 2006. Pours dense pitch black color with minimal head and lacing on the glass. Nice alcohol legs clinging on the glass. Aromas of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, molasses, toffee, coffee, raisin, prune, fig, date, cherry, licorice, fudge, brown sugar, toasted dark bread, leather, tobacco, soy sauce, and light smoke/charcoal. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, molasses, toffee, coffee, raisin, prune, fig, date, cherry, licorice, fudge, brown sugar, toasted dark bread, leather, tobacco, soy sauce, and light smoke/charcoal. Light roast/char bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, molasses, toffee, coffee, raisin, prune, fig, date, cherry, licorice, fudge, brown sugar, toasted dark bread, leather, tobacco, soy sauce, and light smoke/char on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and fruity yeast flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Slight dryness from roast/char bitterness, lightly increasing though the glass. Low carbonation and very full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy, slick, thick, and lightly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is incredibly well hidden, a very mild warmth lingering after the finish, with zero booziness. Overall this is an absolutely amazing Imperial Stout after 11 years of age. All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Definitely in it’s prime for age, and I can’t see this falling off any time soon. A highly amazing offering.

Pitch black, tan head. Aroma of malts, coffee, light porto, chocolate, caramel, coffee and molasses. Sweet malty flavour, loads of chocolate, coffee and alcohol. Alcoholic finish, coffee, roasted malts and chocolate.
(from 350cL bottle @ RBBSG IV, the Hot and Sweaty edition, Gent 2015. Vintage 2014. Thanks for sharing, JefVerstraete!)

2006 Vintage, poured from a bottle at the 23rd Anniversary Party. Black, with a small, tan head. The nose is milk chocolate, espresso, dates, cinnamon, and dates. Very sweet flavor, with a perfect touch of bitterness. Lots of booze, but smooth and pleasant. Immense body, but a surprisingly smooth and velvety, luxurious mouthfeel. This stout is mindbogglingly delicious, smooth, complex, and smooth.