Rare Bourbon County Brand Stout (2024)
Goose Island Beer Co.

A: Appearance is jet black, completely opaque, dark mocha colored head. Typical BCB appearance except head is a bit fizzier and dissipates quicker. Almost no lacing but some alcohol legs. 4.5

S: Huge whiskey aromas, tons of barrel. Nutty, earthy, rye. Quite toasty. No real sweet characters on the nose, but a hint of unsweetened bakers chocolate. Boozy ethanol to balance. Some characteristics I don’t usually get in BCB stouts like leather and tobacco. Aroma just gets better and better throughout the drink. 4.75

T: Taste packs quit the punch. Really phenomenal. Just an explosion of various flavors. It’s roasted malt and whiskey oak barrels up front, some earthy and raw wood characters in the middle, and settles with a long lingering dark chocolate and smooth charred bourbon barrel notes. There’s a mix of other sweet and astringent notes as well, that balance each other nicely. A touch of brown sugar, boozy ethanol, some overripe dark fruits. Wildly complex and nothing short of voluptuous. 5

M/D: Smooth with an appropriate carbonation. ABV is remarkably well restrained at 18.0%. Drinkability is dangerous, interestingly if limited in drinkability it’s due to a cloying factor of sweetness and roastiness as you get towards the end and not to a boozy harshness at all, which is really quite impressive. 4.5

O: This beer is it. Not my all time favorite BCBS variant but it’s at least worthy of entering the discussion which makes it an all timer in my book. 5

Double Barrel Rye

 

Bottle at share. Near black pour, paper thin beige head. Woody aroma, earthy, deep roasty notes, boozy. Taste opens with a strong bourbon character, very smooth, solid base of sweet, roasty notes. Burns a bit on the way down. Top notch brew

pour from 500 ml bottle

black in color, only a thin head. intense bourbon aroma - very complex - vanilla, oak, caramel, char, cocoa. taste is similar, a touch boozy but expected at 18% abv. not quite as full bodied as the regular.

 

 

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

This smells like rich dark chocolate, tobacco, caramel, spicy oak, cookie dough, vanilla, and herbal spice.

This is not like, 4 times as good as regular Bourbon County, even though it’s 4 times the price, or something like that. But it’s definitely better, and it’s definitely extremely good. It’s super chocolatey and caramelly, rich luscious and decadent, with very nice dry oakiness, lots of char, vanilla, and tobacco. I think the DB BCBS from 2019 might be the best and most outstanding barrel expression that Goose Island has released, but this most definitely a stunner as well.

This is thick, chewy, and just feels luxurious on the palate – super creamy, super decadent. There’s a bit of warming boozy, but nothing intense.

Forgettable vintage. Very thin, not much going on with the flavors.

 

 

 

 

Dark chocolate, a hint of dark fruits, rye-spicy, and an integrated bourbon barrel nose on this one! Taste follows very closely with a prominent but balanced, chocolate and rye bourbon barrel boozy finish...some dark fruits appear on the backend of the swallow. This could use a heavier mouthfeel to it to accentuate and bring together all the notes and barrels, but this is well done and delicious!

 

Pours a coal black color and swallows light sitting in the glass, while supporting a sudsy mocha colored head that evaporates pretty quickly as expected in an 18% ABV beer. Gorgeous BA stout.

The first aroma when you open the bottle is booze - some oak, a bit of coconut, and LOTS of booze, all courtesy of the barrel. Then you get rich caramel and decadent milk chocolate, and the slightest bit of dark cherries. Whoa.

The dark cherries are a bit more flavorful and forward on the taste, which is good, because this big stout is all about the caramel and milk chocolate mid-palate, and the bourbon and the heat and flavor it provides at the back of the palate. Just an incredible flavor profile, but it is HOT.

The mouthfeel is rich, chewy, and decadent - you know you’re drinking a beer with gravitas. World class stuff here.