Bottle at BXL. Black. Massive raisins, vanilla, licorice, chocolate, molasses. Very sugary with a ton of barrel characteristics in a nice and aromatic way. Noice.

Just so good. Deep rich sweet toasty malted heaven with coffee, and toffee a little chocolate and big boozy cognac. Just so good. Sigh.

Got in a BIF from Coronaeus. 500 ml bottle into snifter, 2018 vintage. Pours dense pitch black color with a 2 finger dense and rocky dark tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, caramel, licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, cognac, toasted oak, red grape/wine, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, caramel, licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, cognac, toasted oak, red grape/wine, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, woody, peppery, roast, charred bitterness; and cognac tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, caramel, licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, cognac, toasted oak, red grape/wine, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, dark bread/crust, vanilla, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with an awesome roast/hop bitter/sweet, and tart/tangy cognac balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness and tart/tangy cognac barrel notes after the finish. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, fairly sticky/chalky/acidic/tangy/tannic, and lightly slick mouthfeel that is great. Lightly increasing warmth of 11.4%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an amazing cognac barrel aged Russian imperial stout. All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mellowly bitter/charred/acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish. Great soft feel. Amazing balance between super rich malts and cognac barrel presence/integration; with nice earthy hop presence, and restrained fruity yeast complexity. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazingly spot on style example as expected.

Vom Fass (Vintage 2018/11,4%) im Muted Horn Berlin 2019-03 getrunken. Dieses in Cognac Fässer gereifte Stout kommt sehr kräftig, mit kräftigen Schokoladennote daher. Im Hintergrund rundet eine Beerenfrucht das spannende Aroma ab. Die Tannine aus der Fassreifung sind hier mit einer leichten Bitterkeit bemerkbar. Ein wunderbares Stout.