Thanks Travlr for sharing the big tip! 2014 bottle poured into a snifter showing pitch black with no head but a light latte bubbly center. The nose shows sweet caramel with intense bourbon and vanilla notes. The palate is big but medium bodied and lightly carbonated. Intense flavors of vanilla and bourbon but very well balanced by clean roasted malts. Vanilla throughout and in the background provides a minty mouthfeel. Creamy vanilla bourbon finish with a light espresso and dark cacao bitterness. Strong alcoholic spiciness throughout.

Bottle. Dark colour, Chocolate and coffe in aroma, taste of the bourbon barrel and roasted chocolate

Bottle @ Beer Temple with Abijn & MarcodL, thanks Arjan for sharing! Black color. No head. Aroma’s of bourbon, sweetness, vanilla. Retronasal it’s sweet, wood, vanilla, roasted, light drop/licorice, alcohol, light red fruit. Flavor is light sweet, alcohol, vanilla. Rather strong alcohol feel. Very low carbonation. Long finish, roasty, light bitter and wood. Could have used a bit more carbo, but great otherwise.

Bottle, courtesy of Abijen, thanks! Black pour, no head. Rich aroma of bourbon, mild licorice,cherry and chocolate. Smooth taste of mild licorice, bourbon vanilla, subtle cherry, oak and a long velvety finish. Very nice.

Bottle shared, massive thanks to Santa bytemesis. Pitch black with short lasting creamy tan head that leaves a nice little ring and thin film. Massive bourbon notes with vanilla and toffee, roasted malts and burnt toast, espresso, cognac, sweet grapes, chocolate sauce, sticky coffee syrup. Very sweet with soft roasted and alcoholic bitterness. Full bodied with creamy feel with chocolate sauce feel. Massive beer, strong on the bourbon and amazing velvety creamy thick body. Lovely.

355ml (v2012) bottle at home. Black color with beige head. Malty aroma, roasted, sweet bourbon, wood, vanilla, coconut, dark dried fruits, chocolate, caramel, some vinous notes in the beginning. Sweet and light bitter taste, milk chocolate, coconut and vanilla again, caramel, dark dried fruits, spicy cinnamon notes, light alcoholic. Full silky body with soft carbonation.

Beer geeks around the world celebrated International Stout Day yesterday, so I decided to dig into the cellar to find one of the most exclusive ones I have left. I expect a lot from this one seen its reputation... ’Vintage’ bottle (2014). Loudly crackling, moussy, deep tan coloured head, retaining fairly well (even remaining completely stable around the edge) over an opaque and practically black, but actually very dark chestnut brown beer (becoming increasingly apparent as the glass is emptied) with visible fizz on the edges. Strong aroma upon opening the bottle, offering everything one expects from a barrel aged RIS: thick whiffs of dark chocolate, espresso gone cold, coffee beans even, hazelnut paste, sweet cherries soaked in brandy, wet leather, bourbon, vanilla-like oak, raisins, salmiak, chocolate cake dough, very old madera, candied dates, soy sauce, bayleaf, stewed beef, cloves, gingerbread, pear syrup, black olives, Cuban cigars, it just goes on and on. Intense, thick, extremely rich taste, opening with a restrained and refined, dense candied sweetness perfectly balanced with soy sauce-like umami flavours and a soft, ’generic’ sourishness; mouthfeel is expectedly big and oily, full-bodied yet still elegant and supple, with a finely tingling carbonation perfect for this style. A slight alcohol warmth can be felt at an early stage but is largely drowned in an abyss of malts, with delicious dark bittersweet ’chocolateness’ prevailing over toasty and nutty flavours and the coffeeish roasted bitterness gently and gradually building towards the finish. Ends in a big, thick wave of this black maltiness, with the initial sweetness discretely balanced by not just the black coffee bean-like roasted bitterness, but lovely oaky ’woodiness’ as well, supporting peppery hop bitterishness in the right place. Alcohol is evident, but feels like a good bourbon or even rhum rather than being brutal and ’blank’; it brings a very agreeable wave of heat to the throat and chest without becoming obnoxious. Some sweetness lingers in the throat after swallowing but the roasted, hoppy and light alcohol bitterness dominate the aftertaste. The bouquet is just wonderful at cellar temperature and becomes even more enchanting, not to say addictive, at room temperature: this beer is completely flawless to me, I could not stop sniffing it for the whole duration of the tasting (of an entire bottle). Some other ’hyped’ American impies are equally impressive but are perhaps a tad too boastful; this one remains discrete and shows finesse and elegance galore. The ’sticky’ sweetness is exquisitely balanced, which is less the case in e.g. Dark Lord or Surly’s Darkness; the wood and the bourbon add another layer of complexity without disturbing the equilibrium of the basic beer’s malty, hoppy and fruity properties. This is a lot like BCBS in many ways, with the same degree of drinkability; I already gave Bell’s Expedition Stout a near perfect score, and since this one ups the ante with the extra dimension of bourbon barrel ageing, I guess I have no choice but to honor this artful masterpiece with a close to perfect score. This is a divine beer in all respects and the perfect choice for celebrating something as geeky as an international beer style day, I guess...