Dosvidanya - Bourbon Barrel
DESTIHL Brewery

Dosvidanya - Bourbon BarrelDosvidanya - Bourbon Barrel
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From:
DESTIHL Brewery
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #149
ABV:
14.8%
Score:
94
Ranked #2,483
Avg:
4.23 | pDev: 7.8%
Reviews:
65
Ratings:
284
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 21, 2023
Added:
Dec 09, 2008
Wants:
  30
Gots:
  57
Like a Russian Matryoshka or 'nesting' doll, the secret of Dosvidanya® Russian Imperial Stout lies locked deep within her mysterious & elaborate wooden layers. The hidden soul of this oak bourbon barrel-aged beer that we said Dosvidanya ('goodbye') to several months before revealing, is its rich flavors like dark chocolate, toffee, black cherries and coffee along with robust & roasty maltiness that finishes dry.

84 IBU

Great American Beer Festival Bronze Medal Winner: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout Category
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by IMFletcher:
Photo of IMFletcher
Rated by IMFletcher from Kentucky

4.15/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

May 08, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of tradershmulie
Reviewed by tradershmulie from Connecticut

4.85/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Beautiful pour. As it should be. Dark deep black color. Decent head that dissipates slowly, not too clingy.

Pleasant nose - very slight hint of some sweetness.

Delicious. Very smooth. Great blend of richness, a bit of sweetness without being too much.

As it warms slightly, this beer loses nothing. It is outstanding, world class. Expensive, but worth a special occasion.
Sep 21, 2023
Photo of TerryMills
Reviewed by TerryMills from Tennessee

4.13/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
500ml bottle from 2017. consumed Feb 2023.

Few flavors and takes you thru them quickly .. All wood up front followed by a split second of bourbon/vanilla then finished quick and dry with dark semibitter chocolate ..

Solid beer .
Feb 13, 2023
Photo of jjamadorphd
Reviewed by jjamadorphd from Florida

4.19/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Spec-freaking-tacular beer. It has this nice reddish hue as it pours and ends up beautifully dark in the glass. The smell is boozy with a healthy dose of roast and light on chocolate notes. The mouthfeel was the thickest I have experienced in quite some time - fantastic. Taste-wise it was roast forward with a light Bourbon touch to the tongue. Though you do feel it later. Overall, it was a great beer to curl up with on a cold February Friday night.
Feb 04, 2023
Photo of NCSapiens
Rated by NCSapiens from Indiana

4.09/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Distinctively clear bourbon barrel taste. Oak, vanilla, dark chocolate, toffee, black cherries, coffee notes, roasted malts, cola ethanol sweetness.
Jan 07, 2023
Photo of JesMartinez
Reviewed by JesMartinez

4.49/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Very dark brown. No head. Smells of chocolate and spice. Low carbonation with creamy and slightly viscous consistency. Tasted like cold chocolate with vanilla and cinnamon. A very mild spiciness creeps in. A truly magical experience!
Oct 29, 2022
Photo of drdiesel9483
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio

4.26/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Look - Black and thick with a fantastic tan head and great rimming and lacing
Smell - booze barrel chocolate black licorice toasted malt
Taste - boozy woody barrel with a nice chocolate toasted malt slight black licorice
Feel - medium full body with a medium light carb
Overall - pretty good standard BA Russian
Sep 09, 2022
Photo of MadMadMike
Reviewed by MadMadMike from France

4.49/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
In a word.,. “Wow”.
Pint can poured at 53° into a 14 ounce Avery snifter. 2021 vint. 14.5% ABV.
Appears as dark as a gulag cell on a Siberian night. Just a lazy little ring of foam that fades quickly.
Smell, scuse me, ‘aroma’ is rich chocolate, light bourbon, burnt malt.
Taste is incredible; a chocolate covered cherry dipped in a shot of bourbon, toffee, coffee, roasted malt.
On warming, the bourbon gets in the back seat as dark fruits make their presence known.
Feel is viscous, oily, delightfully thick and chewy. Very little burn for the ABV.
Overall, a fantastic exhibit of RIS style.
Jul 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.15 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Jun 06, 2022
Photo of GoBearsWalter34
Reviewed by GoBearsWalter34 from Illinois

4.69/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
L- pours dark brown with a smidge of tan head.
S- chocolate, malt, brown sugar, black licorice.
T- black licorice, caramel, slight dark fruits, amount of Barrell notes is simply perfect. Big Carmel malts. Lighter hop for a Russian Stout. Simply amazing.
F-not sure if I experienced a smoother feel than this one ever.
O- This one is a serious contender for top 5 to 10 RISBA I have had.
Jun 04, 2022
 
Rated: 4.23 by Boone757 from Virginia

May 11, 2022
 
Rated: 4.22 by jaxon53 from Connecticut

Apr 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.08 by Mikexw from New York

Apr 24, 2022
 
Rated: 4.12 by blissfulNemo from Michigan

Apr 04, 2022
Photo of Fordcoyote15
Reviewed by Fordcoyote15 from Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Very solid. BA expo like but less refined and polished. No adjuncty fuckery here. Straight up roasty bitterness and actual hops in a stout alongside a huge stout. Ethanol is pretty brash and its not terribly expansive on flavors not mentioned above. Still, it seems leaps and bounds more mature and crafted to actually be a beer than any number of the 100 stouts on the shelf around it who rely on the status quo of the BCBS sweetness card or worse - the lactose and adjunct it pastry it to dessert card. Those beers are easy to drink, but I prefer the ones that make you think. This beer does. I wish it were a little bit more polished and expansive on flavors but all in all its a very mature departure from the status quo.
Feb 22, 2022
Photo of MHL81
Rated by MHL81 from Illinois

4.34/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Da! Exactly what you'd expect from an RIS slumbering in a bourbon barrel. A lot going on here.

Canned 10/20/21.
Feb 19, 2022
Photo of Argail
Rated by Argail from Louisiana

4.27/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2021 vintage, good strong well made stout... to pricey
Feb 13, 2022
 
Rated: 3.79 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Feb 08, 2022
Photo of backblast
Reviewed by backblast from Alaska

4.43/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours black with almost no head and no lacing.

Taste s of rich toasted malt, earthy dark chocolate and very mild bitterness. The barrel is present and has an alcohol/vanilla mixed in - very nice.
Jan 23, 2022
Photo of GrumpyGas
Reviewed by GrumpyGas from Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
16oz can dated 10/20/21 poured into a tulip glass shows a pitch black, opaque body and briefly floats a 1/8in dark tan head of mixed bubbles.
Aroma is roast malt and licorice but this took some serious sniff-itude, any aroma whatsoever is fairly muted. After an hour of sipping this there is a hint of bourbon and it just makes me wince with nostalgia.

Flavors are also subtle, dominated by an unspecified roastiness; neither coffee nor cocoa. My complaint is not the base beer itself, it is a solid Russian Imperial Stout. My complaint is the bourbon...and the barrel. Neither exist here. Certainly not with any assertiveness. If this were merely a RIS, it would be a high 4.5 rating, alas it is not, and it is not.

Mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, full, and just short of coating the tongue, with a clean, almost wet, finish.

Overall very disappointing for such a solid beer. Maybe they filled this can straight from the tank rather than from the barrel.
Jan 02, 2022
Dosvidanya - Bourbon Barrel from DESTIHL Brewery
Beer rating: 94 out of 100 with 284 ratings