Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin: Bourbon
(has 15 batches)
North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, California, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Rotating|
Score
8.14
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Every year we age a special batch of our much-loved Russian Imperial Stout in Whiskey barrels. The depth, intensity, and complexity of the flavor profile of this special release, like its predecessors, make it a worthy tribute to Old Rasputin.
Prior to 2010, Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin was released in such limited quantities that it was available only at the North Coast Brewing retail shop in Fort Bragg, California. However, we received so many requests for this beer that we began producing enough Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin to put into broader, but still limited, distribution.
Brewmaster’s Tasting Notes
This beer pours jet black with a comforting layer of toffee-colored foam. Warm, sweet ethanol rises from the glass carrying roasted notes of bourbon, vanilla, and cocoa. The bourbon character from the barrel-aging gives the beer a full-bodied creaminess and a warm, tingling heat.
Prior to 2010, Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin was released in such limited quantities that it was available only at the North Coast Brewing retail shop in Fort Bragg, California. However, we received so many requests for this beer that we began producing enough Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin to put into broader, but still limited, distribution.
Brewmaster’s Tasting Notes
This beer pours jet black with a comforting layer of toffee-colored foam. Warm, sweet ethanol rises from the glass carrying roasted notes of bourbon, vanilla, and cocoa. The bourbon character from the barrel-aging gives the beer a full-bodied creaminess and a warm, tingling heat.
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8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Pours dark brown, edging black. Aroma is sweet, heavy, sticky with all those dark fruity flavours and a bit of booze. Taste has a lot of sweetness, bourbon barrel coming through nicely, does not feel too heavy but rather nice, great for sipping. Some roast flavour complementing the sensation, vanilla. Great warming beer.
Tried
on 22 Aug 2015
at 21:29
7.3/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 9
Bottle ( XVI ) at home. Pours nearly black. Small , light head. I exected it to be more dark, but at least its not white.... it fades fast as well. Smell is roasty, bit bitter, some bourbon-inspired grainyness, but not really vanilla or sweetness...Taste is bitter up front , and than turns into a beautifull, complex and elegant. Some booze towards the back, but it’s not unpleasently strong. Just like the base though, this is the typical Imperial stout where there is nothing wrong , at any level, but its not rememorable, ’just’ a well brewed BA Imperial stout. I like it, but I would have prefered a thicker MF. and perhaps something to set it apart from all the other beers in this type that are on today’s market.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Jul 2015
at 14:34
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
500ml bottle from trade with RobertDale. Thank you Bob! Black color with beige brown head. Malty aroma, lots of dark dried fruits, plums, chocolate, wood, vanilla, light alcohol. Sweet and bitter like aroma. Medium oily creamy body with soft carbonation.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Jun 2015
at 08:28
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
0.5l bottle - XII. Slightly reddish black body, light brown head that collapses quite quickly. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, bourbon, spicy hops, vanilla and sour cherries. Taste of chocolate, bourbon, sour cherry and lots of roasted malts in the finish. Medium body, warming alcohol. Very nice. XXI - Bourbon dominates here as well with nutmeg, chocolate, toast, orange zest and vanilla. You can feel the booze, but great.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Apr 2015
at 07:21
7.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle. Opaque black body. Short tan head. Bold aroma of chocolate, cherry, wood, roasted malts, char. The flavor is moderately to heavily sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderately sweet and lightly to moderately bitter. Medium to full body, velvety texture, moderate carbonation. Taste of sweet chocolate and tart cherries, oak wood and light bourbon. Nicely balanced if not a bit on the sweet side. Still, a lot going on in this rendition that’s enjoyable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Apr 2015
at 14:25
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
XVII bottle.
This was poured into a snifter.
The appearance was a dark brown color coming close to black and an off white to tan one finger head that dissipated within about a minute and a half leaving a light stringy sliding lacing.
The smell started off with a thick rich sweet luscious chocolate. After about a minute of warming, a nice roasty coffee enters and sprinkles in some vanilla. I’d say it took a good half an hour to warm before the bourbon made any presence and when it did a light woodiness came about.
The taste was layered just like the smell in pretty much the same order. A big super sweet sticky chocolate aftertaste bled into a semi dry finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sipping quality about it. The carbonation seemed to have been pretty smoothed out as it just rolls across my tongue.
Overall, I say this was a pretty good bourbon barrel aged RIS. I’d have this again.
This was poured into a snifter.
The appearance was a dark brown color coming close to black and an off white to tan one finger head that dissipated within about a minute and a half leaving a light stringy sliding lacing.
The smell started off with a thick rich sweet luscious chocolate. After about a minute of warming, a nice roasty coffee enters and sprinkles in some vanilla. I’d say it took a good half an hour to warm before the bourbon made any presence and when it did a light woodiness came about.
The taste was layered just like the smell in pretty much the same order. A big super sweet sticky chocolate aftertaste bled into a semi dry finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sipping quality about it. The carbonation seemed to have been pretty smoothed out as it just rolls across my tongue.
Overall, I say this was a pretty good bourbon barrel aged RIS. I’d have this again.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Mar 2015
at 00:34
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle at Ash’s. Pours black, nose is bourbon, vanilla, toffee, coconut, chocolate, wood, taste is dry, wood, chocolate, bourbon, light bitterness. --- Beer merged from original tick of Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin on 28 Feb 2015 at 14:37 - Score: 8. Original review text: Bottle at Ash's. Pours black, nose is bourbon, vanilla, toffee, coconut, chocolate, wood, taste is dry, wood, chocolate, bourbon, bitter
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Feb 2015
at 08:37
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle thanks to Chris Schneider. Appearance - opaque black with a lovely fawn head. Nose - dark chocolate, wood notes, maybe light vanilla, but not massive. Taste - dark and creamy chocolate, tangy toffee note, dry wood backdrop. Palate - massive creamy body, with a big creamy/woody middle section and a dry balanced finish, where the wood clings on. Overall - this is great. I think it would develop brilliantly in the bottle.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Feb 2015
at 10:16