Bourbon County Double Barrel Toasted Barrel Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.

2021 version of this brew. Thanks for the beer brother.

Pours a moonless night, black with zero light showing through. Pure abyss. Small dark-colored mocha head on the initial pour.

Distinct bourban aroma with roasted malts.

Wow, a delicious stout. The way a stout should be. Thick, full bodied, deep roasted malts with chocolate, caramel, vanilla and bourban. So rich and smooth. The ABV is lurking in the background but never overpowers the taste.

Rich and velvety smooth. A delicous, bourban, chocolatey aftertaste.

A world class stout. So smooth and easy drinking. What an Imperial Stout should taste like...love it...Cheers!

**
11/24/23

Bottle to snifter, share with DC.

Cola, pepper. Oak, rye, . Toasted malt.

Good, but a tad disappointed.

**

10/16/23 bottle @home

 

Took the trip out to Chicago and decided to take this bottle back home to Rhode Island. Poured an impenetrable black which aromas of bourbon. Upon tasting this I get the quintessential bourbon county flavor with a barrel character that is amped up to a thousand. Excellent toasted/smoky flavor that complements the base beer. Truly and excellent experience.

Drank from a 1 pint .9 fl. oz. bottle purchased at Connecticut Beverage Mart, Newington, CT
Drink by: 20JUL26
2021 vintage
Served in a tulip

Review #2275

The beer poured a medium bodied dark brown/black hue. Thinner than I anticipated. A small, frothy, mocha colored crown topped the liquid, but it quickly dissolved. There was no lacing whatsoever.

The aroma was impressive. Super boozy and complex. Malty and robust. Bourbon barrel notes came through big time and intensified as the beer warmed. Nice amount of toasted oak and char. Sweet caramel malts and brown sugar notes were apparent as well. Good dose of licorice. Vanilla was also detectable.

The flavor profile was surprisingly rough around the edges. Rich and malty up front. Roasted malts were most apparent. A bit ashy. Touch of caramel malt sweetness as well. Spicy rye or bourbon notes came through big time as the beer moved along the palate. Charred raisins and plums were quite apparent in the center. Loads of licorice too. Hint of vanilla. More boozy bourbon, oak and char on the back end and in the finish.

The mouthfeel was pretty unexciting initially but improved with time. Medium bodied for the style. Thinner than anticipated given the high ABV. The liquid contained a super fine, mellow effervescence that made the beer come across as somewhat flat initially. With time, the carbonation seemed to increase and the beer felt slicker, smoother and creamier on the palate than it did initially. After a few sips, the sugars in this deposited a sticky film on my lips.

Bourbon County Double Barrel Toasted Barrel Stout definitely lived up to its namesake. That said, even after two-plus years of aging, it was still quite roasty and boozy. All in all, this is an interesting beer, but given its steep ($50) price point, I would not purchase it again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

500 ml bottle into a snifter. Bottled 7/20/21, had 3/12/22.

Pours an opaque dark brown, with a quarter inch quickly dissipating head and some spotty cling. Aromas of bourbon, oak, char, malt, chocolate, some vanilla, a little leather. Has a spicy, peppery aroma. Flavors of bourbon, oak, malt, vanilla, chocolate, raisins, char, a little licorice on the finish and in the aftertaste. Has a spicy taste, somewhat black pepper like. Smooth, a very good full body, appropriately carbonated.

Really enjoyable. Lots of barrel and oak, many distinct and expressive aromas and flavors. Not quite as full bodied for a BCS effort, but it’s not a negative.

 

 

 

This beer pours a perfect onyx black with zero leakage on the edges and sports a dark tan head that is a bit creamy and sticks around for a surprising amount of time given the 16% ABV. A gorgeous representation of an imperial stout.

The nose is boozy up front, again no surprise with the high ABV, but there’s also huge milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, oak, and stone fruit (as ripe dark cherries ) notes that literally have me drooling. There’s a LOT packed into this big beer.

The taste has a nice boozy note up front that is not distracting at all, and flows into the milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, oak, and dark cherry flavors, with a nice warming alcohol note at the back of the palate. This is perfectly balanced and world class at the highest level, IMHO.

The mouthfeel is full, substantial, and coats the palate. This is everything a BA imperial stout should be, again IMHO.

 

Opened my bottle of this with a friend of mine who had the Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel bourbon so we could try them side by side. The beer pours much like any BCBS, rich dark black color with a thin brown head on top. The smell has a pretty healthy barrel presence to it, some roast and chocolate in there too. Taste is solid, nice chocolate mixed with bourbon and wood notes. The feel was personally my favorite part of the beer, it was smooth, hardly any boozy heat, the fact that it was 16% and drank so easily is very impressive. Overall it's a great beer, as it should be. Enjoyed having it!