Bourbon Barrel-Aged Common Fate
Cigar City Brewing

Bottle that was short-poured. No carbonation at all.

 

 

From my 2018 Catador Club pack.
Dark pour with maybe a hint of brown. Light tan head.
Vanilla and bourbon are the primary things on the nose.
Vanilla, dark chocolate and bourbon are the main attractions on the tongue as well along a hint of fruit.
Silky mouthfeel.
Another serious winner from Cigar City.

 

 

750ml bottle dated 4/25/2018 poured into a Cigar City Barrel Aged Stout Spiegelau glass. Appearance is a pitch black body with a soapy mocha head that quickly recedes to a glass clinging ring with no lacing. Swirling the glass produces brown alcohol legs.

Aroma is near perfect. Vanilla, coconut, baker’s chocolate, bourbon, barrel char, dark fruits.

Taste follows the nose. Very sweet upfront, alcohol dryness on the finish.

Mouthfeel is similar to drinking a glass of bourbon. Wet then dry.

Overall this is a fantastic BBA Stout. It’s incredibly underrated. I would drink this all day everyday over any nationally distributed BBA Stout. Bravo CCB!

 

 

 

 

Pours a deep black with a modest tan head. Initial impression is chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, and maybe some blackstrap molasses. Alcohol was pretty noticeable, but at 13.5% I suppose that's to be expected. Mouthfeel was medium-thick and creamy; carbonation is light. Finish is boozy, sticky, and hto, with a hint of oak.
This is an excellent - if somewhat debilitating - American Stout. I don't usually have the patience or self-discipline to cellar a beer, but I'd be interested in what this one tastes like after a year or so.

 

Decent head production; poor retention. Body is beautiful, like ebony wood.

Barrel is obvious on the nose, along with a nutty mild char. Toffee, brown sugar, oak, coconut, red grapes, pecans, tobacco. Chocolate and coffee start to emerge as it warms.

Smooth balance of bourbon, chocolate, and booze on the palate. Brown sugar, pecans, caramel and pale grains, coconut, tannin, leather, oak, dark fruit, sweet red grapes, char.

Thick, smooth, a bit hot; represents the ABV well.

This is a bit of a throwback BA imperial stout in terms of big character, depth, complexity, and booziness.

 

 

Got this one from desp a while back. Cheers!

From a 750 into a snifter
Bottled 04/smudge/2018
El Cat Bottle #6
Bourbon barrel aged imperial oatmeal stout

APPEARANCE: Pours out black and yields a two finger, looser looking, fizzy and crackly tan head with only half decent retention. Black body with no real carbonation evident. Head quickly recedes to a half wisp and ring. Only a ring remains until the end and leaves no lacing down the glass. Nice, black body but relatively lack-luster head on this one.

SMELL: A good dose of bourbon and oak, with plenty of vanilla cream, coconut aromas and milk chocolate on the nose. Dark baker’s chocolate and hints of roasted coffee in there as well. Some butterscotch and plenty boozy too. Bold.

TASTE: Bourbon, oak, some milk chocolate and vanilla up front with plenty of booze and alcohol at the swallow. Moves into a bold finish of bourbon, oak, some obvious wood flavors, vanilla cream, milk chocolate, butterscotch sweetness and some nice, slightly bitter baker’s chocolate lingering on the palate. And hint of coffee in there too. A good dose of alcohol underlines the whole show here with plenty of wood character.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Creamy on the palate, goes down smooth with a bit of a bite and finishes mouth-coating. A good dose of heat lingers.

OVERALL: This is solid stuff all around. It’s got a solid base stout with some nice baker’s chocolate flavors and a boozy yet nuanced barrel that lends some other nice, sweet flavors to the show. It’s perhaps a little woodier than some of the best examples of the style, but that doesn’t detract from the rest of the character is has to offer. Another good barrel aged stout from CCB. These guys almost never, ever disappoint. Thanks again, desp!