Bourbon County Brand Stout - Reserve 2018
Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Series Out of Production|
Score
8.16
|
|
The same base recipe as Bourbon County Stout Original, but this beer is aged in 12 year old “Elijah Craig Barrel Proof” bourbon barrels. The bourbon from those barrels was awarded 2017 “Whisky of the Year” by Whisky Advocate, the top honor in the world of international whisky. Reserve is intended to showcase the nuances of a premium single source and highly sought after bourbon.
Sign up to add a tick or review
8.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 9
Overall 9
Bottle at home. Black with a small short lived brown head. Aroma of big and beautiful bourbon, rich oak barrel, vanilla, caramel and chocolate. Beautiful. Heavy sweet but not in any cloying or pastry way. Full bodied with boozy alcohol warmth. Lovely.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Sep 2026
at 19:40
8.1/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Sample, thanks fonefan! Black, minimal head. Strong burbona roma with dates and madeira. Sweet with full body and well rounded mouthfeel. Bourbon, caramel, chocolate and dates. Warming mid bitter finish.
Tried
on 14 Aug 2026
at 19:24
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Thanks fonefan! Black colour, small off-white head. Aroma is toffee, some biscuity and mild bourbony tones with a bit of alcohol too. Flavour is dried fruits, toffee, bourbon, wood, alcohol and some figs and mild spiciness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Jul 2026
at 17:18
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle 1pt0.9floz. @ home - [ Virtual Tasting 💻👀 ] - fonefan & Brugmansia House. 🏡🇩🇰 🍀 ☁️☂️ [ As Goose Island Reserve Bourbon County Brand Stout (2018) (15,2%) 12 års Elijah Craig BA Imperial Stout ]. ABV: 15.2%. [20260514]. 8-/4/8-/4/18
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 May 2026
at 17:55
8.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle at ash's. Pours deep ruby, nose is chocolate, roasted, caramel, berries, vanilla, taste is dry fruit, roasted, chocolate, vanilla, quite boozy. 8/9/8/8/8
Tried
on 18 Apr 2026
at 10:36
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
27 February 2026. BCBS Tasting @ Stacks (Sint-Kruis). Cheers to Ward for hosting the event!
Jet-black, no head. Intense bourbon, vanilla, molten fudge, oak, salmiak, espresso. Sweet date & dried fig, vanilla, thick dark-chocolatey malt body with creamy vanilla, touch of umami (salty salmiak). Peppery hops, very oaky, somewhat sharpish boozy bourbon alcohol but still supported by the maltiness. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. On the sharp side, but it does lend a slightly deeper bourbon complexity. Very good.
Jet-black, no head. Intense bourbon, vanilla, molten fudge, oak, salmiak, espresso. Sweet date & dried fig, vanilla, thick dark-chocolatey malt body with creamy vanilla, touch of umami (salty salmiak). Peppery hops, very oaky, somewhat sharpish boozy bourbon alcohol but still supported by the maltiness. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. On the sharp side, but it does lend a slightly deeper bourbon complexity. Very good.
Tried
on 27 Feb 2026
at 14:31
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
0,75l bottle at home. Vintage 2018. black color, small tan head. smells bourbon, vanilla, light soy sauce, nutty, walnuts, hazelnuts, molasses. nice to very nice smell. full body, light carbonation. tastes bourbon, vanilla, nutty, some dried fruits, tad boozy, light fudge, coconut, spices. finishes lightly sweet with notes of bourbon, vanilla and fudgy notes. very nice one, smells had some oxidation notes, but taste was very nice, lots and lots of bourbon. Light booze, but thankfully only hints of sweet. very good one.
8, 7.5, 8.5, 8, 8.5
8, 7.5, 8.5, 8, 8.5
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Jan 2026
at 18:17
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle thanks to Stuu's Chicago adventure. Pours black with a thin beige head. Aromas of molasses raisins and soy sauce. Taste is raisins, honey and a bit of PX sherry. Peppery finish.
Tried
on 29 Sep 2025
at 14:52
8.5/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 9
Overall 9
Bottle thanks to Stuu's Chicago mule run.
Appearance - opaque jet black with a thin crema head. Not much carbonation.
Nose - molasses and raisins, a bit of soy sauce or tapenade.
Taste - dried fruit, particularly raisins, honey and a bit of PX.
Palate - full bodied, peppery spice from the barrel and then sweet.
Overall - lovely stuff.
Appearance - opaque jet black with a thin crema head. Not much carbonation.
Nose - molasses and raisins, a bit of soy sauce or tapenade.
Taste - dried fruit, particularly raisins, honey and a bit of PX.
Palate - full bodied, peppery spice from the barrel and then sweet.
Overall - lovely stuff.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Sep 2025
at 14:27
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 9
Overall 8
bottle at ashs ...dark black ...rich woody chocolate roast malts nose ..dark sweet plums chocolate ..rich malts ...woody ..big bourbon ..rich chocolate roast malts
Tried
on 29 Sep 2025
at 14:23