Big Bad Baptista
(has 6 batches)

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 11/8/2018. Pours dense dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense tan head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, nutty dark roasted coffee, caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, cream, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, charcoal, herbal, grass, peppercorn, and roast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great complexity and balance of roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, nutty dark roasted coffee, caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, cream, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, charcoal, herbal, grass, peppercorn, and roast/oak earthiness. Light herbal, peppery, roast, char bitterness; and cinnamon, bourbon, oak spiciness on the finish.. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, nutty dark roasted coffee, caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, cream, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, dark/brown bread, coconut, molasses, light smoke/char, peppercorn, and roast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, and bourbon barrel flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; and zero cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness and cinnamon/bourbon/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety, and lightly sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 10.8% and cinnamon spice; with no barrel booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is an amazing barrel aged spiced imperial stout! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV with the mildly bitter/spicy/drying finish. Pretty much perfect balance of rich malts, cocoa, coffee, spices, and barrel presence/integration. A highly enjoyable offering. Was an improvement over the 2016 I had reviewed previously. A lot silkier/velvety, and not as drying on spices.

Pours deep brown into a snifter. Mocha head with excellent retention recedes to pool surface. Cinnamon and coffee aromas. Sweet with dark chocolate and coffee upfront turning to cinnamon and vanilla in the lasting finish.

22oz bottle picked up Epic
Pours black with a medium sized dark brown head, some lacing. Aroma of roasted malts, cinnamon, coffee and chocolate. Flavor of cinnamon, vanilla, dark malts, chocolate and whiskey
Smooth

22oz bottle thanks to Darrel. Pours out black topped with a tan head. Nose is nice big cinnamon roast malts rich chocolate. Taste is more of the nice cinnamon sweetness chocolate man this is nice.

Growler fill from Albertsons. One sip and my ears are burning. Pours out kind of flat, small ring of tan head. Chocolate, hints of coffee, roast grains featured in the aroma. Taste also had the dark chocolate flavors up front, bittersweet. Smooth and silky. Pleasant afterglow. Happy Thanksgiving!