Mok Master #4 Cognac - Coffee Chocolate Vanilla

One in a string of Mok Master variants, of which I only had the first one so far - and I recall that I was struck by how accurately it embodied American style BBA imperial stout, so I was expecting a lot from this apparently fourth version too, aged in cognac barrels. Thanks to Meeki again for sharing. Medium thick, creamy, mocha-brownish ring of foam and flat 'islands' in the middle, black robe with thin mahogany edge. Intense aroma of indeed pronounced cognac, toffee, melting black chocolate bars, hazelnut paste, nougat, something oddly soapy, oak wood, bayleaf, beef stock, fresh paint, shoe polish. Dense, concentrated onset, sweet (candied fig) but not overly so, with a touch of beef stock-ish umami (black olive); soft carb, full and thick, oily mouthfeel. Layers of toasted-walnutty, caramelly, milk-chocolatey adn eventually more fondant-like dark maltiness fill the mouth cavity, adorned with notes of bayleaf and liquorice, peppery hopped and mildly tannic, after which this glow of bittersweet cognac engulfs the back of the mouth and throat. Bold, daringly unsubtle and boozy: not the most refined barrel aged strong stout I had, even a bit less so than that first Mok Master I remember, but still delivering what it set forth to do and definitely scoring high with the geeks. Well done - this one along with the first edition stand miles above the rest of this brewery's range for me.