Rasputin Buffalo Trace BA
Brouwerij De Molen

330 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Deep amber. Medium khaki head.

Smell - Caramel. Some wood. Fruity malts. Almost nonexistent bourbon.

Taste - Fruity. Very English in its malt profile. Still no bourbon, but it's got a lot of wood. Very sweet. Deep caramel.

Mouthfeel - Medium low carbonation. Boozy.

Overall - Doesn't impress me. Doesn't even taste like a stout.

 

 

I agree with the reviews here -- this is kind of an odd beer. I think it being categorized as an RIS isn't right, this has the base taste of an Am Strong Ale. When you expect an RIS, it comes up really short. Oh well...

 

 

Bottled in July 2013.
Pours rather dark brown, not really that dark. Small white head fast to a thin lace that leaves some traces on the glass.
Bourbon is very apparent in the smell, with warm alcohol, oaky vanilla from the barrel and a sweet maltiness. Toffee, caramel, licorice, some dark cherries and figs, even faint blueberries.
Taste follows the nose bringing in the front a big bourbon feel, almost like someone dropped a shot in this beer. Quite boozy from the start, prickly and covering up the nice caramel, toffee and faint dark chocolate. Fruitiness still spikes through with some juicy dark fruit, oranges and even some nice pineapple, which is rather refreshing. Gets a bit roastier, some wood, some coffee liquer in the end before the big boozy dryness.
Medium body and carbonation, a weird balance of crispness and prickly alcohol.
It calls itself "imperial stout-ish", but it surely lacks the rich robust flavours. It's borderline dark, kinda light, and the alcohol doesn't seem handled too great. Still has some nice flavours that compensate, and maybe if you age it even more things get smoother.

 

 

 

 

 

Got this at the De Molen beer shop in Bodegraven.

From a bottle into a snifter
Bottled 2 July 2013
23 Plato
EBC: 202
EBU: 46

APPEARANCE: Pours out a really transparent light brown and yields a thin and bubbly, off-white head that quickly vanishes. A faint, swirly wisp and bubbly ring remain. Transparent bistre brown body with no carbonation evident. A ring remains with touches of lacing down the glass. Just too thin and light for the style.

SMELL: Bourbon caramel and toffee, with oak, some milk chocolate and alcohol. Pretty bold.

TASTE: Bourbon, caramel and boozy alcohol up front. More bourbon, vanilla, some caramel and toffee sweetness with milk chocolate notes at the swallow that linger nicely. Bold finish is sweet with bourbon, caramel and toffee, as well as some bitter dark chocolate and a touch of roast. Some alcohol lingers. Not bad, but quite hot.

PALATE: Medium-full body and medium levels of carbonation. Creamy enough on the palate, goes down okay and finishes slightly sticky. Some heat lingers. Quite boozy, but still quite full and creamy.

OVERALL: This is decent and perhaps close to the quality that was Rasputin Bruichladdich. I do think that Rasputin as a base beer is nothing special, but this BA version isn't bad. That said, I'd rather them just barrel age H&V all the time. It's a much better base beer at around the same ABV.