8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle at Stout Week line share, 2/18/24. Dark, possibly clear, bright maroon highlights, no head. Viscous. Nose is very, very richly malted. Didn't realize this had added toffee at the time, but it's not surprising. Is it necessary, though? Cacao adds the typical round, earthy chocolate while the barrel comes off well-done, spicy, mellow, rich. Not boozey. In the mouth, I think, while the toffee flavor is interesting and adds an almost barleywine dimension, it's ultimately unnecessary, really only adding extra sweetness to an already amply sweet pastry stout. It's not horrible, though and the bourbon and barrel do provide a decent amount of dryness. Rich, round, sumptuous malts with no alcohol noted.