Vanishing Point 06
Innis & Gunn

500 mL bottle in a carton from the LCBO; best before Jun 2027 and served barely chilled.

Pours an opaque black-brown hue, sporting one finger of tight, creamy, light tan-coloured head that lasts for a little under five minutes. A sudsy collar lives on, with a narrow band of lace left clinging to the glass; it replenishes itself with each sip. Relatively subtle nose including a decent whiff of ethanol, as well as cocoa, burnt wood, vanilla extract, licorice, herbal hops and treacle.

It's stupid smooth for 11% - I'm getting notes of raisin, fig, honey, dark chocolate and treacle at first, with roasted malt and whisky complexity not far behind. Hints of vanilla, orchard fruit and oak come later on, leading into a spicy, moderately boozy finish; suggestions of treacle, dark fruit and chocolate linger on, alongside burnt wood and spicy, warming whisky. Full in body, with light carbonation that weakly agitates the palate; feels soft/smooth, and I noticed a very slight numbing effect during the last half of the glass. The alcohol is exceedingly well-integrated, resulting in a dangerously drinkable stout.

Final Grade: 4.20, an A-. Canadian BA stout fans will not want to miss out on Vanishing Point 06: it's some of Innis & Gunn's best work in a long time. OK, it's not enormously different from last year's 05 - that one was aged in 15y Speyside whisky barrels, whereas 06 went with 18y. Accordingly, I feel as if 06 comes off slightly mellower/easy-drinking. So yeah, this is a great stout, but it's also a pricy pint. I'd argue that if you take into account the fact that it's a (18y) Scotch barrel-aged imperial stout shipped from overseas, then the price is reasonable for what you're getting. This series would make for an interesting vertical some day.