Bourbon County 2 Year Reserve Brand Stout (2019)
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

 

 

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like roasted malt, char, marshmallow, maple, dark roast coffee, caramel, cedar, oak spice, and white pepper.

I absolutely love the variants of Bourbon County that solely emphasize the barrel work. That two years in barrels has really transformed this one in a burly and beefy barrel monster. There's lots of spicy oak and char, with some vanilla and maybe even a little bit of maple from the barrel. There's the big dark chocolate and marshmallow from the typical Bourbon County profile.

This is medium bodied, not quite as thick as typical BCBS, but still rich and creamy, with a nice dry finish.

This is certainly up there with some of the best single barrel expressions of BCBS that have come out over the years.

 

 

 

 

 

The 2 Year Reserve BCS from 2019; aged in 11 year old Knob Creek barrels. This version is a grown up BCS base that is wearing a tuxedo. The cocoa and coffee finish is much more pronounced. Also, the barrel dryness starts to build the longer it is exposed in the glass. The beer almost starts to become whiskey neat. Excellent stout and showcase of barrel technique.

IG: @firesidewithphil

Pours as black as spent motor oil with a nice foamy tan head that was packed with bubbles, dissipating slowly with no real lacing to speak of, which was expected. The nose is like a glass of bourbon with caramel, vanilla, maple syrup, rich oaky notes, peat moss, charred wood, red wine, dark fruit, cocoa nibs, dark chocolate, biscotti, burnt coffee grinds and more chocolate mixed with booze. The bourbon gives off smoky and sweet notes and is on par with the BCBS Coffee variant.

Tastes as good as it smelled with basically the same lineup as above plus molasses, brown sugar, rye, soy sauce, fudge, coffee and some faint nutty flavors. The bourbon and vanilla work well with the roasty stout base as this never gets too boozy or too sweet. This aged perfectly as it is money right now. Got this bottle in December 2019 and I’m glad I let it age since it was delicious.

A remarkable beer that’s got some boozy aspects that warm you up after each sip, but it’s a smooth slow sipper and not harsh like a glass of straight bourbon. It’s refined and complex in every way, getting better as it warms without ever being cloyingly sweet. One to seek out, this whale is by far one of the best Bourbon County brews I’ve ever had.

Pours opaque black with 1/2 fingers width of dark mocha head which dissipates at a moderate rate. Aroma is bonkers on this thing, just insane barrel notes, so rich. Huge, huge bourbony goodness, charred oak, smokey, peat like. It’s just wonderful. Base beer characters of roasted malt and a boozy fusel alcohol character. If I have one complaint, which admittedly is nitpicking, it’s that the barrel notes are so strong they somewhat mute the base beer characters. Taste is also amazing, but more balanced. Rich chocolate both fudge and dark cocoa paired with roasted malts up front. Huge barrel notes on the back end with char, heavy oak, a touch nutty, big bourbony vanilla. It’s incredibly bourbon heavy yet so smooth. There’s a really great balancing sweetness here. Just phenomenal. Mouthfeel and drinkability as standard as per BCBS which is to say, not particularly thick with good carbonation and surpassingly good drinkability. Overall just a killer beers
4.75/4.75/4.75/4.5/4.75

 

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of huge bourbon notes with some woody note and vanilla with some sweet black chocolate notes is quite enticing. Taste is a great mix of bourbon, woody and vanilla notes with some sweet black chocolate notes. Body is full with oily like texture and good carbonation with some warming alcohol notes also showing. Solid version of BCBSS with great bourbon notes and added complexity.

 

 

Just a perfect barrel aged beer. Thick with lots of barrel char.

 

 

500 ml bottle into a snifter. Bottled 7/10/19, had 10/16/20.

Pours near black and opaque, thick looking, with a half inch quickly dissipating foamy head and light, spotty cling. Aromas of bourbon, oak, leather, malt, molasses, chocolate, figs, raisins, some char, light prunes. Has a spicy aroma. As good as this smells, it tastes even better. Flavors of bourbon, chocolate, oak, leather, vanilla, malt, raisins, some prunes, light molasses and brown sugar, light tobacco and char. Smooth, an excellent full body, well carbonated.

An elite BCS variant. Such vibrant aromas and flavors, with lots of bourbon and oak, and more dark fruit than usual. A delight to drink.

Since it's a time for celebration, I decided to pull this one out. Aged for 2 years in 11 & 12 year-old Elijah Craig barrels, this is a complex brew that will leave both your mouth and brain, stupefied. Sweet and thick on the pour, leaving a small head that quickly disappears. In the mouth, a smorgasbord of flavors- hazelnut, coffee, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, sorghum molasses, and heavy bourbon wallop induce a near-orgasmic experience in the mouth. Silky-smooth swallow, and a heavy oats & smokey chocolate finish. This is quite literally, sex in a bottle.

 

 

 

29 September 2020 - Beer #189

Price: $29.99 at Food Emporium on 8th Ave in Manhattan

Appearance: 4 - you know, it's not completely black. Blacker than the Reserve Rye, and the head is a bit darker, but it's not completely black.

Nose: 5 - wow, this is powerful stuff! Massive barrel, and tons of dark fruit. Smells like bourbon dipped chocolate covered figs.

Taste: 5 - exactly like the nose. There's this deep barrel quality. It never gets too sweet, and there's even a bit of smoke on the very back end.

Mouth: 5 - just a sip fills your whole mouth and almost chokes you. Well played.

Overall: 5 - my first crack at this one. So glad I have another tucked away.

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

Wow this has a punch! Strongest smells and booziest BCBS of 2019.
L-jet black
S-let it air a bit after opening and it get more rich, strong
T-strong bourbon bite and intense, love it.
F-not thick as oil like some, drinks easy, must sip it to enjoy

This is a tie to me of the variants along with the Proprietors, is just as good less strong with more sweetness to it.

 

 

Serving: 1 Pint, 0.9 Fl. oz. bottle poured into a 2015 GI BCBS snifter. Bottled on 7/10/19, making this a little over 8 months old at this point.

A: Pours that classic BCBS motor-oil back color. No head whatsoever.

S: I'm sure I could tell the difference side-by-side, but this smells very similar to Regular. Maybe a touch less sweeter and with a bit more bourbon/oak aroma.

T: Very rich chocolate, like 90% dark cocoa. Dark fruits, raisins, figs. Finish is with a shade of vanilla, certainly some nice bourbon notes.

M: About on par with Regular, but maybe a hair thinner in the body, sadly. Maybe due to the extra time in barrels?

O: So I believe this is the first time GI did a 2-year Reserve. The closest thing I think of would be maybe Rare, as in it's a different barrel, but a special, much older one. I never had OG Rare, and wasn't a huge fan of 2015 Rare, so I wasn't too hyper for this. However, this year's Reserve Rye was amazing, so I couldn't wait for this. I certainly like it more than 2015 Rare, it's not as oaky or smoky as that was. This seems like it got more careful attention. It's sort of like Regular on steroids, a touch more boozy, thinner, more potent. Yet, it sort of lacks the fluffiness and sweetness and richness of Regular. While this may not top it's base beer, it's still a great venture into the art of the barrel.

Recommendation: If you've had Regular, don't feel like you're totally missing out. But if you're a more hardcore Bourbon lover, this is really worth checking out if you can't track one down.

Bottle shared by Danlie! Thank you.

What bourbon county can and should be. Pours a black hole dark. Smells like an exclusive cigar lounge made solely from leather, used bourbon barrel staves, tobacco leaves, and roasted malt. Tastes about the same as it smells. Smooth with a slight kick from the 2 years in a barrel. A poor man's more refined Rare '15.

 

On tap at the Clybourn brewery for USD 8/6 ounces. Incredible beer and amazing on tap. Dark, roasted, vinous, great lacing and smooth like I never expected for a beer with this abv.

 

 

Typical bcbs viscous black body, no head, brown edging. Smells of wood with character, bourbon, vanilla, fudge, rustic earth, slight rye and smoke, and leather. Taste is right there with the best in the series, extremely barrel forward but in showing it off doesn't get too boozy, nice balance in that regard. Wood and bourbon so expressive before re-submerging into the depths of the other flavors from the stout. Get some caramel, dark fruit and slight marshmallow in the mix as well. Has booze heat but does not burn. Feel is thick, chewy, barrel forward, and well balanced. The wife loved it