Daffodil and honey aroma. Blurry amber pour with a thin, lacy, off-white head. Clover taste, not complex, but delicious. Slight hop finish. Suprisingly good.

Bottle. Unclear / hazy orange color with a average frothy fair lacing mostly diminishing off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, moderate to heavy hoppy, grapefruit, spuce, brown sugar, licorice. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and heavy bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. ;o))

Bottle Pours a thick viscous black with a small lasting coacoa colored head. Huge sweet dark roasted aroma with chocolate. bourbon and old wood barrels. Flavor was an exquisite medley of ripe dark pitted fruits, chocolate, a bit of coffee, dark brown sugar and a decent alcohol bite. Slightly fumey. Silky and thick, palate and softly carbonated. Lovely. Thanks Jake.

Original Rating 5.23.2007 "Bottle: Immense black pour with a small brown head. Nose is complex with bourbon, vanilla, and smokiness. Taste is warming with bourbon notes, roasted malt/chocolate malt, and vanilla. Very smooth and silky, yet warm and cunning. Praise to both pantanap and badbeer for sending this in trade!"......Update: It's 10 years later and GIBCBS has gone from only attainable via trade (in Boise) to a shelfie and then to a Black Friday nightmare. Lots of variants too. I've been able to have this now many times in the last decade and truly love this beer. The 2013 bottle I had last night (11.10.2017) was amazing. So rich and full of layers of flavor. I've never had a bad experience with this beer (lucky me right, no infected bottles here). Easily one of my favorite Imperial Stouts of all time. 2-4 years of age seems to be the sweet spot for me, but it drinks great fresh too.

2020-12-27, courtesy of Brian, vintage 2018 (31AUG2018), 2 years old, 15.2% ABV, 8-4-9-4-18=43
The aroma is on the mild side. Rich chocolate, sweet, very smooth, with powerful bourbon character and strong alcohol punch; roasted nuts, touch of vanilla, liquorice dust. Wonderful.

2017-09-09, Oxford tasting, vintage 2013, 14.9% ABV, 7-4-9-4-17=41
Black color, apparently flat. Boozy aroma, not as intense as the 2008 tasted side to side. Strong alcohol in the body, sweet, dark malt and dark caramel, roasted nuts; some toasted fudge, nuts, bourbon.
Excellent, just more boozy and less round than the 2008.

2017-09-09, vintage 2008, 9 years old, 13% ABV, 8-4-9-4-18=43
Black color, flat. Some dark malt and phenol aroma, chocolate. The mouthfeel is soft and full bodied, quite impressive for this age; the sweetness sticks on the lips; good chocolate and alcohol.
Holding up very well, not too much oxidisation, rounder and better amalgamated than the 2013.

2016-12-28, vintage 2015, courtesy of Brian, 8-4-9-4-17=42
The aroma is loaded with phenol. Rich flavor; enough chocolate, but also too much phenol, definitively there is bourbon; too much alcohol burn too. But still it's an excellent sipper.

2014-02-12, vintage 2008, bottled 10/28/08, 5+ years old, 13% ABV, 7-4-9-4-17=41
It pours a thick black, with barely any head. The aroma is fading; there is some roasted malt, tar, Parmigiano Reggiano; nice but with the first signs of oxidization. Full bodied beer, with round and thick mouthfeel; the mix of roasted malt and dark chocolate flavor is excellent; fairly sweet, also because the bitterness is fading away; there is some demerara sugar, leather, wood, a touch of Bourbon, a hint of liquorice, a bit salty indeed.
It’s a very interesting sipper.

2012-12-18, vintage 2008, 4 years old, 13% ABV, 9-4-9-5-18=45
bottled 10/28/08
It pours a black color, oily, with almost no head. Impressive aroma of firewood and Bourbon, with a peppery finish, and very light phenol. Full bodied, the texture is a bit oily; it has a very rich flavor of dark chocolate, medium sweet, with later hints of coffee and leather; some vanilla as well; the barrel aging adds complexity and alcohol warmth.
Wonderful now; it may not be suitable for longer aging, some oxidization would not fit here.

2011-07-14, vintage 2008, 3 years old, 13% ABV, 8-4-8-4-17=41
Black color; it has not much carbonation, it pours thick and oily, with a small and not persistent brown head. Aroma of roasted malt and dark chocolate first, some vanilla, leather, alcohol, cardboard and light phenol. The body is very strong, with a rather oily mouthfeel; very good dark chocolate flavor, then roasted malt, some tar and liquorice, finally the pleasant Bourbon component; moderate residual sweetness; strong warming feeling from the alcohol; correct bitterness.
Extremely powerful.

2009-11-12, at Monk's Café, Stockholm, vintage 2007, 2 years old, 13% ABV, 9-4-8-4-17=42
Black color; it's almost flat, with no carbonation, no head. The aroma shows a good mix of Bourbon vanilla, whiskey, roasted malt, paper, cardboard, very light smoke. It has a good body strength; strong chocolate flavor, burning alcohol feeling; well rich; dark caramel, light vanilla, light smoke.

2007-05-23, vintage 2006, 1 year old, 11% ABV, 8-5-9-5-18=45
Black oil, thin head. Intense aroma, very sweet, of vanilla, oak, roasted malt, tar, leather. Full mouthfeel, thick, oily, sweet, malty, with a very nice roasted malt line, some liquorice, cookies, vanilla, dark chocolate. Strong final, with a clear presence of the roasted malt, sugars and vanilla, salty dark chocolate 99% cocoa; toffee and rhubarb; the alcohol starts warming the mouth

Bought for 10$ at New Beer Distributors, NY, it’s a great beer to celebrate Milan victory in the Champions League tonight!

Bouteille, courtoisie de Hogtownharry. De couleur noire et opaque. Nez fruité (cerises, léger de raisins et de prunes, notes de figues) légèrement boisé (fût de chêne), de malt rôti, de chocolat noir, de café espresso, d’alcool moyen-doux liquoreux (whisky), de caramel toffee sucré, léger de vanille et avec des notes de sucre brun, de réglisse noir et des traces de fumée. Ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen et une texture riche, crémeuse et liquoreuse (voire visqueuse). Goût fruité (cerises vieillies, léger de raisins vineux, notes prunes et de figues) boisé (fût de chêne) avec un goût de vanille et des traces de réglisse noire lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute rapidement un goût amer de malt rôti (notes de brûlé), de chocolat noir, moyen de caramel toffee avec des notes faibles de sucre brun parallèlement à un goût d’alcool liquoreux (whisky) moyen et réchauffant ainsi qu’un goût de café et moyen de mélasse puis en finale viennent se rajouter des notes de houblon herbeux ainsi que de faibles notes de fumée. Post-goût très long, moyennement amer d’alcool liquoreux, de rôti, de chocolat noir, de café, avec un goût assez boisé et légèrement fruité (moût de cerises et de raisins vineux) ainsi que des notes de houblon herbeux.

Pours black into a tulip. Brown head quickly subsides to skim surface. Bourbon and chocolate aromas. Creamy and full with immediate bourbon burn. Lasting espresso finish. Nice.