Rasputin Rum BA
Brouwerij De Molen

 

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, creamy, mocha-colored head. Smells of lightly roasted, bready, caramel malt and strong notes of dark fruit and chocolate, with just a hint of coconut and oak. Taste is an excellent balance of lightly roasted, bready, caramel malt, dark, bitter chocolate and a strong presence of dark fruits, with notes of raisin, fig and plum, as well as lighter notes of coconut, brown sugar and just a hint of licorice, peppery spice and musty oak. Finishes bittersweet, with a light bitterness and some dark, fruit, chocolate and coconut lingerin in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light/medium carbonation.

This is probably the first rum barrel-aged stout that I have truly enjoyed, completely lacking the harsh booziness that I have experienced in some other examples of the style. Rasputin seems well suited to rum barrels as well though, with the quite expressive dark fruit and chocolate notes being complemented rather nicely by the barrel character, evoking chocolate-covered, rum-soaked raisins and a hint of bounty bar. While this is definitely quite the sipper, it's a rather enjoyable, rich and complex one that never becomes too sweet or boozy thanks to a good balance with some more roasted and bitter notes.