Bottle at home in Hackney - picked up in a trade. Pours oily black with a big, cascading foamy brown head. Has rich sweetness without being cloying, some burnt caramel, lightly ashy roast, scorched earth, nips of vanilla, fudge, raisins. Medium to full bodied, lightly chewy, velvety, with subtle, massaging carbonation. Lightly warming in the finish with rich, layered chocolate character, toasted biscuits, more dark fruits, raisins, dates, burnt marshmallows, background bitter roast. Incredibly smooth, exceptional depth. A stunner.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of bourbon notes with some vanilla and woody notes is mix with some chocolate notes with some residual sugar notes also perceptible. Taste is a mix of bourbon, woody notes with light vanilla, huge chocolate notes with some residual sugar notes and light warming alcohol notes are also perceptible. Body is full with oily texture and good carbonation with some light arming alcohol notes. Great blended of BA stouts.

500ml bottle at home. Black color with brown head. Malty aroma, roasted, wood, smoked notes, dark dried fruits, coffee, licorice, cocoa and chocolate, vanilla, light alcohol. Sweet and bitter taste like aroma, lots of coffee and caramel. Full silky oily body with soft carbonation.

Bourbon and rye whisky barrel aged imperial stout by Hill Farmstead, bottle shared at pre-Zwanze tasting in Bruges. Pale yellowish beige, moussy, stable head over an ink black beer. Intense, lovely bouquet of chocolate liqueur, bourbon, old oak furniture, kahlua, coffee liqueur, vanilla, ruby port, hints of soy sauce, sweet bourbon, chestnut, dry liquorice candy, leather, cinnamon. Sweet, dense, intense onset, concentrated candied dates and raisins, light sourish touch and an equally light umami edge; softish carb, lusciously thick and oily mouthfeel. 'Heavy' toffeeish and profoundly chocolatey maltiness glides over the tongue with beautiful pecan-nutty flavours in its wake, leading to a satisfyingly rich and complex, heart-warming finish with lovely delicate fig, vanilla and cinnamon notes as well as an underlying peppery hop bitterness melting together with the soft roasty aspect and dried by soft, gentle tannins; whisky and bourbon flavours are certainly there, but nowhere become obnoxious or dominant, so that this whole beer remains perfectly in control of itself from beginning to end. Fantastic imperial stout, perfect in the details, better than many more hyped American style 'impies' I had before - this is very clearly a masterpiece, and it is surprising to find that Hill Farmstead not only excels at 'modern' farmhouse ales and hazy IPAs, but can just as well tackle this other great flagship style of the postmodern craft beer revolution as well. I could easily finish a whole bottle of this nectar of the gods.

Bottle, shared @ Kermis'. TFS Julien! Black color. Brown head. Aroma's: sweetish, roasty, boozy. Retronasal: sweetish, bourbon-boozy, chocolate. Flavor is above moderate sweet, chocolate, light alcoholic fruity. Full bodied. Long finish, roasty, dark chocolate.

Bottle shared at Kim Jong Un Buurtcentrum, Zaandam. Thanks Julien! Black with a brown head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, massive oak, milk chocolate, coffee and caramel. Flavour is heavy sweet and moderate bitter. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Bottle drunk 9/20/17.
Inky ebony with ruddy, mahogany edges in the light; seemingly opaque and with a small, tan head atop.
Maple, treacle, and oily, roasty char surge forth bringing a very "dry", roasty, rich nose. Quite European in the sense that it is all roast/malt driven with seemingly no hops to interfere. Milk chocolate and vinousness for days with no alcohol or flaw.
In the mouth, it's chocolatey, lightly fudgey and with some char, yet it's not syrupy-sweet or too fudgey, importantly. A hint of alcohol on the end, warming things somewhat, with a hint of oak, oily roast and fruity acidity. Low but ample carbonation, high attenuation. Chewy and even a touch of syrup character to the texture at times, but due to the lack of sweetness, it's not "syrupy" in the normal Imperial Stout sense. Like a modern interpretation of Harvey's or Courage.