Black Magick - Double Oak Bourbon Barrels
Voodoo Brewing Co.

Bottled on 7/19/2019; consumed on 9/7/2023

Pours an oily, motor-oil black body topped either a tentative finger of sudsy, beige foam, settling quickly to a near-blank cap, slight, frothy collar, and no lacing holding to the walls of the glass.

Aroma resounds with burnt dark chocolate brownie upfront, with airy vanilla meeting a malt char edging in as soft barrel tones settle and dark fruit esters coat a caramel flow on the back end of the bouquet.

Taste brings a creamy vanilla char as a hint of dark fruit underscores, peaking with dark cocoa fudge over the mid-palate into a sweet toffee background; bourbon courses through the back end as a doughy caramel inflection lingers past the swallow.

Mouthfeel offers a medium-full body and minimal carbonation, with slick textures dispersed as a creaminess resounds over the mid-palate and a distant char presents on the back end, leaving soft barrel tannins to finish.

A discernibly sweeter iteration of the Black Magick line, the Woodford treatment softens the normally-intense barrel char profile, instead producing a silkier aspect coating the lithe bourbon interplay; a deeper richness, though nuance still abounds.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and no lacing.

This smells like dark chocolate, char, toasty tobacco, smoked maple, vanilla, caramel, and oak.

This aged absolutely wonderfully, for being almost three years in the bottle. There's an excellent sweetness here, a combination of bittersweet and smoky maple, vanilla, caramel, and even maybe coconut, that is just delightful. It's all derived from the barrel and the stout, with no added flavorings, which is just stout wizardry at its finest. There's melted dark chocolate, lots of of oak, some tobacco and oaky bitterness, and a touch of coffee as well.

This is medium bodied, with no real booziness to it, and a very nice drinkability overall.

The Black Magicks are always some of the most absolutely impressive unadorned barrel aged stouts out there. They are great at release, and they also age well.

The appearance is an angry, oily burnt black with no head at all. Despite lacking a head, it's black void is quite mesmerizing.

Surprisingly sweet, the slick medium-light body thickens just before the sticky finish, where it gives off a little of that Woodford wheatiness I've grown quite familiar with. At the same time, it's also got a uniquely peppery, herbal quality to it, like sage. The bulk of the experience, though, is that sweet introduction I started with. The barrel imparts a syrupy maple char in taste, while in aroma it almost gives off a thick feel, with a luscious vanilla heat paired with a touch of Raisinet.

As it warms, cracked wheat and toasted cracker develop, but the sweetness only continues to bloom as well, in large part through notes of brown sugar and creme brulee. Additionally, the aroma begins to develop that unusual, super milky quality that I've gotten from other Black Magicks on draft at festivals. However, here, thankfully, it's only mildly present, as those other experiences were much less pleasant.

It's so easy to drink for how complex and assertive it might sound. It goes down with very little heat, just a tingle really, while being smooth and not too thick at all. Despite the lack of visible carbonation, there is a fine carbonation that leads the palate into the finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standard looking BA stout. And fairly unassuming aroma. Smells sweet and bourbony but the aroma is not on the level that the taste is.

I'm an absolute junkie for barrel aged stouts that aren't bastardized with adjuncts so naturally this is my jam.

It's very sweet, with an explosion of molasses and sugarcane. Loads of fig like fruit, a light tobacco like char. Vanilla/oak/bourbon is well integrated.

Feel is EXTREMELY sticky. Lots of residual sugars leaves the beer lingering for minutes between sips.