No I didnt have this at the HDG even though this was being served. An old rating I was saving until I got to compare it to a newer batch but after the SH IRS, I was not going for it.

Notes from Barcade, Vintage, 2004, Draft
Pours black with a small head into a goblet. Aroma is sweet and perfume-y with a slight prunish alcohol. Taste is sweet chocolate, alchy raisons and a bit of a bitter bite. A bit thin and a bit watery for me though.

Tap at HDG Daze of the Devil - quite an impressive black body, with a frothy tan head - bittersweet bakers chocolate, plum, and a slight vinous quality in the aroma - medium-bodied, and not as complex as I like my imperials, but still quite tasty - only moderately sweet, with coffee bitterness complimented well by notes of black cherry and anise - this early promise, sadly, leads to a rather thin finish, with little more than the bitterness lingering on the palate - still much better than a lot of imperials I’ve had lately.

Draft at "Broadway Brewing Co.," JFK terminal 8. Rated 6/7/04, ratings retrieved from broken handheld. Not quite as complex as their description implies. There’s a big roast coffee aroma rising from a toffee colored head, and a very appropriately black body. Taste is of coffee and black patent malts, with a bit of stoutie driness. I’m missing the alcohol warmth this style usually conjures up. Bitterness seems to come more from the malts than from any hop profile.