Packed to the brim with cocoa, anise, and rich biscuit notes. The bourbon is ALMOST secondary to the sweet character of this one. Epitome of a dessert stout.

Brown bottle, 1 pint 0.9 ounces, from, with and at Jean-Frédéric Pleau (merci!), savoured on 1 October 2023; eye: black, opaque, no effervescence, island of beige head, no lacing; nose: almond, alcohol, almond, clover, chocolate, slight bourbon, light aniseed, cocoa, chocolate pudding, balanced; mouth : almond, alcohol, almond, clover, chocolate, slight bourbon, light anise, cocoa, chocolate pudding, balanced, chocolate, finale in chocolate with light presence of hops, full-bodied, average carbonation, mildly sweet, lightly alcoholic texture; in summary: very good FRANÇAIS
Bouteille brune, 1 pinte 0,9 once, de, avec et chez Jean-Frédéric Pleau (merci!), savourée le 1 octobre 2023; œil : noire, opaque, pas d'effervescence, îlot de mousse beige, pas de dentelle; nez : amande, alcool, amande, trèfle, chocolat, très léger bourbon, léger anis, cacao, pouding au chocolat, équilibré; bouche : amande, alcool, amande, trèfle, chocolat, très léger bourbon, léger anis, cacao, pouding au chocolat, équilibre, chocolat, finale en chocolat avec légère présence de houblon, corsée, carbonatation moyenne, moyennement sucrée, texture légèrement alcoolique; en résumé : très bon

A deep dark stout with a very thin brown head. In aroma, sweet fruity chocolate malt with dark fruits, aniseed, alcohol warmth, nutty notes, very nice. In mouth, a nice sweet chocolate malt with dark fruits, licorice, aniseed, amaretto, alcohol warmth, beautiful.

Camping bottle, courtesy of Sergey; drink by 21 aug 24
Black colour. Aroma of spirit, cacao. Full bodied, sweet but not syrupy; cacao and dark chocolate upfront, some roasted nuts, bourbon, and hot alcohol. Bold, a bit too hot, but well made.

Poured from a 500 ml bottle with an August 21, 2024 best by date. Aroma is malt forward with lots of chocolate notes along with a bunch of toffee and dark caramel notes. Lighter malt notes of roast and toasted bread with hints of anise and marzipan. Medium light alcohol notes with light bourbon and faint oak notes. Pours black with hints of dark brown hues on the edges with a medium sized, moderately thick, dark brown head that recedes steadily to the edges where a small film lingers. No lacing and sheets for legs. Flavor is fairly sweet with lots of dark chocolate, dark toffee and dark caramel notes. A bit lighter of a roast and coffee note with even lighter notes of toasted bread and honey. Hints of anise and marzipan. Moderately strong bitterness and medium light alcohol notes. Light bourbon and faint oak notes. Mouthfeel is full bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, a pretty solid barrel aged stout. Really nice malt character with balanced adjunct character that works well with the malt notes. Balanced alcohol notes despite the size of the beer. Sweet, but not pastry level.

Panda, courtesy of SHIG, pours with a nice dark mahogany colored body that supports really no head at all. The aroma offers up marzipan seeping into chocolate, a sense of booze enhanced nuttiness and some spicy notes off in the periphery. The taste delivers slick sweet richness boiling with sugary malts, chocolate, a marzipan like character and then sliding into a modest toffee candy sweetness. Another sip and I can make out the nuttiness kind of hovering over the flavor as a thin cloud. Midway and into the finish the booziness grows and grows and warms the gullet. Nice balanced sipper.

500mL bottle, pours black with a small tan head. Aroma is loaded with black liquorice upfront, followed by toasted almonds, buttered toffee, and light bourbon. Flavour is extremely rich, starting on the black liquorice, followed by buttered toffee, and then transitions to the bourbon barrels. Cohesive, balanced, never harsh. The almonds and liquorice are not out of place whatsoever. Expert blend here. Really nice BCS variant.