Goose Island Beer Company Bourbon County Brand Stout - Reserve 2019 Rittenhouse Rye

Bourbon County Brand Stout - Reserve 2019 Rittenhouse Rye

 

Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois, United States 🇺🇸

  Stout - Imperial Rotating Out of Production
Score
7.97
ABV: 14.5% IBU: 60 Ticks: 42
Stout aged in Rittenhouse® Rye Whisky Barrels

The 2019 Reserve Rye Bourbon County Brand Stout aged in Rittenhouse® Straight Rye Whisky barrels highlights a longstanding mutual admiration and respect between Goose Island and Heaven Hill Distillery®, seeking to exemplify the honest flavors that a barrel has on the resulting beer. The Goose Island Barrel House brewers used nothing but the cask and the spirit it once held to impart the flavors into the beer.

Enjoy this unique release side-by-side with our beloved Bourbon County Brand Original Stout—aged at the same length, with the same base beer—and discover the unique contribution that the rye whisky barrel lends. You'll uncover the distinct, spicy flavor that has long been associated with the Rittenhouse® brand. Rittenhouse® is a bottled-in-bond whisky that has a pleasantly fruitier aroma than other ryes and adds a different layer of complexity to the final beer.
 

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7.4/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 7 Overall 7.5
Pitch dark, brown head
Roasted malts a little of funky cellary wood, tight
Flavor is english licorice, salt licorice, roasted malts, whiskey, wood
Tried from Draft at Peders - Pisserendens ølkælder on 08 Jul 2026 at 18:25

7.9/10 Appearance 9 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 7 Overall 7.5
500ml @ Ryan's shared with Alex, Phill, and Josh, trying to figure out the Okanagan trip because weather is preventing us from Golden Ears camping 😬.
Aroma: American oak, a bit meaty, bold, some sweetness. Some boozy notes.
Taste: along the same lines, noticeable spicy notes from rye. Finishes with molasses and some bitterness. A bit in the thinner side.
Overall: enjoyable.
Tried from Bottle on 20 Jun 2026 at 05:00

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Dark brown. Deep fruity aroma, with dark chocolate. On the palate this has a nice toasty rye character, again chocolate, minerally, fruity, so lots of complexity. Good body.
Tried from Bottle on 20 Jun 2026 at 04:58

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Poured from 500mL bottle (drink by 02 Sept 2024). Very dark brown with small beige head. Woody rye character with light spice, slightly nutty, dark roasts. Decent.
Tried from Bottle on 20 Jun 2026 at 04:55

6.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6.5 Flavor 6.5 Texture 6 Overall 6
Shared with Caesar and ShivanDragon @ Mancave Bunnik. Opaque pitch black color, small brown colored head. Aroma and flavor are malts, very heavy alcohol, roasty, soy sauce a bit, liquor. Heavy roast and alcohol. Seems too much barrel aging tbh, too heavy, too strong.
Tried on 15 May 2026 at 19:32

7.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Bottle at Drinkøteka, huge thanks Barba! Pitch black body, tiny brownish-grey head. Dusty, oxidized aroma, huge carob, chocolate, cakey, light gluey alcohol. Lighter than expected, smooth, yet bitter, warming, still cakey, rye, carob, more alcohol.... Gotten to be a bit rough have to say.
Tried from Bottle from Drinkøtéka on 12 May 2026 at 19:27

8.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 8.5 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
27 February 2026. BCBS Tasting @ Stacks (Sint-Kruis). Cheers to Ward for hosting the event!

Hazy black, no head. Intense bourbon, oak, vanilla bean, molten fondant, pralines, brownie, cinnamon. Very sweet fig, date & banana in a thick brownie- & fondant-like malt body, surrounded by vanilla, bitter mocha and some spices. Finishes with peppery hops, fondant, vanilla, vague allspice and warming (rye) bourbon alcohol. Full body, thick oily texture, average carbonation. Intense, also quite sweet but managing to blend with the spicy character.
Tried on 27 Feb 2026 at 15:33

7.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 7 Overall 7.5
Pitch black colour with small head.Aroma is sweet and warming with hint of earth and berries good full body and mild cherry and wood notes smooth and nice finish..
Tried from Bottle at Rallys on 14 Feb 2026 at 18:49

7.6/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 7 Overall 7.5
5 oz. as part of a flight at Global Brew, Evansville. Typical BC look. Aroma is strong toffee, molasses, bourbon, rye, light alcohol sting. Taste is strong earthy malt, rye, bourbon, late toffee/molasses.Smooth, frothy texture, average carbonation, rye spice, alcohol astringency into sinuses, finish as taste. 6 years on, alcohol a bit strong. Nice otherwise.
Tried from Draft on 01 Dec 2025 at 17:31

9.1/10 Appearance 9 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 9 Overall 9.5
Bottle. Unbelievable that this beer was only available over here in The Netherlands via parallel market for about 100 Euro or so until some weeks ago. Now available in regular beer shops for just above 20 Euro. Color: Black, thin brown head. Aroma: Roasted malt, spicy rye, sweetish Bourbon. Taste: Very nice mix of roasted malt, spicy rye, vanilla, Bourbon, some oak wood, subtle boozy notes, hints of dark dried fruits. Long lasting finish. Full body, below average carbonation. Over medium sweet but not too sweet, over moderate bitterness. Very nice.
Tried from Bottle from Hoptimaal on 27 Oct 2025 at 20:17