Described as XXV. Black with creamy head. Aroma has wood, vanilla, Bourbon. Bittersweet taste. More like coffee in the beginning but it sweetens up with the Bourbon coming through stronger and stronger. Would benefit from being slightly thicker and having zero carbonation instead of the fine bubbles it has. Still excellent though.

Magus, suhkur, röstine, kohv, alks. Hea.

Bottle from Livonia Liquor. Pours a deep brown to black with a finger of brown head that dissipates. Lots of warming bourbon on the nose with char, oak, dark chocolate and coffee notes. More of the same on the palate. Medium carb, good mouthfeel. More bourbon, dark chocolate, coffee and faint vanilla, oak notes. Very good.

12 oz bottle. Pours black with a tan head. Sweet bourbon brown sugar and cocoa aroma with some roast. Flavor is strong in bourbon, dark fruit, and molasses, syrupy cocoa with vanilla and a touch of roastiness. More roast and coffee in the finish. A good one.

Old Rasputin, one of the great classics in the field of American imperial stout from the earlier days of U.S. craft brewing, aged on bourbon barrels: this one I had to taste. Thanks to Craftmember for scoring – and sharing – this bottle! Thick and frothy, shred-lacing, yellowish-beige, stable head on a black beer with glowing ‘bordeaux’ edges. Aroma of lots of vanilla-like oak wood, wooden furniture even, ‘fondant’ chocolate, coconut flakes, old raisins, Brazil nuts, furniture wax, sweet bourbon, toffee, latté macchiato, chestnuts, hazelnut paste, mocha, nougat. Dried figs and old raisins at first, sweet but in a refined and non-cloying way with a faint dried porcini-like umami edge, refined and small-bubbled in carbonation, smooth and vinous, full mouthfeel – though far removed from the excessive viscosity found in many imperial stouts of younger descent; black-chocolatey, pecan- and walnutty malt core, layered and tasty with a soft toasty bitter edge – remaining more sweet than bitter even when this cappuccino-ish roasty touch sets in. The roasted bitterness stays on the soft side, instead the necessary balance against the sweetness comes from the barrel treatment here, bringing a lot of vanilla-scenting, tannic oakinness, accompanied by a deeply situated, yet important peppery hop bitterness. This is truly high class drinking, a beverage from a more civilized era I would almost say – or at least from an era when refinement, balance and elegance were more common in imperial stouts than boastful syrupiness and sticky sweetness. I absolutely love a solid old school stout like Old Rasputin and this barrel aged variant is indeed even an improvement of the legendary original.

Dark brown pour with a tall tan head with excellent retention. Roasted malt, smooth bourbon, toffee, chocolate, more roasted malt, ash, dust. Decent, for a BA stout.

Bottle (XXI vintage) from Harvest Market, Bedford (R.I.P.) and alcohol is jacked to 12.2% vs. 11.1% listed. Appearance is opaque black with no discernible sparkle, nice viscosity, finger-plus width beige-light brown head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma is strong bourbon, toffee, roasted malts, and vanilla all well balanced. Taste exactly reflects the aroma. Mouthfeel is light-to-medium bodied with smooth texture, soft carbonation, pleasant alcohol warmth deep in the esophagus and finish as taste. Overall, in an adjunct-filled world, there are more complex stouts out there, but this is very good for a straight BBA RIS.