Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Lord De Muerte | 3 Floyds Brewing Co.

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%

4.49/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from the 2011 vintage. Opened side by side with all other variants from the same year.
A: Dark, no head.
S: Strong pepper dominates the scene but with also strong raspberries scents and chocolate. Very surprising, powerful nose. Bourbon is there but somehow subdued, hidden behind the strong pepper.
T: Taste is balanced between chocolate, green pepper and subdued fruits flavors (cherry and raspberry mainly). The hotness is actually really low (it may be gone), which makes this highly drinkable.
M: Heavy mouthfeel, quite sticky, still drinkable.
O:Very surprised and pleased by this beer. This is far better than anticipated and highly drinkable for what it is. The fact that it's not hot anymore probably helps a lot. The balance and the fruitness in this beer are what I appreciated the most.

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4.25/5  rDev +6.3%

3.26/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shared during NWI tasting night of all 2011 BA DL's

A - Dark chocolate brown with a golden overtone around the edges. Not much of a head as it only leaves small bubbles on the sides. As the beer swirls in my glass, I can tell it's going to be a thick one as it leaves lots of residue on the sides

S - It smells slightly vegetal, sort of like green peppers and a bit like dirt. This is mixed in with slight chocolate and vanilla that we get in all of the other BA DL's. The green pepper vegetal aspect just make this seem off as the nose doesn't blend well together at all

T - Up front this is dark chocolate, caramel and vanilla. You get some slight heat from the chili as well as some of the vegetal aspects that I picked up in the nose. Overall, this tastes much better than it smells but not nearly as good as the other BA DL's. The finish has very slight heat from the peppers as well as some oak from the barrell.

MF - Smooth body while drinking it. It is another bit thick and sticky DL that leaves a slight sticky residue while drinking. Additionally, you get a slight vegetal coating on the tongue

O - By far the worst of the BA DLs. There is still lots of vanilla and caramel that I get in the other ones but the peppers just throw this one off. There is only a small bit of heat from the peppers but they produce more off vegetal flavors than anything else.

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3.46/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Josh for this one. Side-by-side with all the other BA Dark Lords. Bottle 122/165 into a snifter. From notes.

Same appearance as the other Dark Lords.

Booze, chocolate, fudge sweetness in the nose. Some mellow spiciness lingers in the background. Quite nice actually.

Chocolate, fudge, prunes, plum, and a slight metallic taste. Spiciness comes out a touch at the end but overall is just very mellow. Decent.

Same feel as the others. A slightly accented finish.

Not sure why this beer gets so much hate. The chilies are all but gone at this point but what remains is still a decent beer with a mellow kick at the end. Worth a try and I'm glad to have had the opportunity.

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4.6/5  rDev +15%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Sample at Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2017, yellow session. Starts with rum and continues sweet and sticky. Brown sugar, habanero peppers, medium heat, not too sweet or cloying.

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4.25/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

3.65/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750 mL bottle poured into a snifter. 2013 bottle. #110/417.

Appearance - Black. Back to no head.

Smell - Peppers are quite strong. Chocolate. The peppers are very green.

Taste - Chocolate. Very sweet, but the peppers build. Green peppers. I get a little bit of bourbon and vanilla, but peppers is strongest.

Mouthfeel - Thick and sweet, like the others, but the pepper really cuts the sugar.

Overall - This tastes better than the others. It smells like all peppers, but it's actually pretty enjoyable.

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4.25/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.65/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Bottle #22/165 (2011) - Served lightly chilled 55-60°F into a FFF Teku. Bottle crown opens with a light release of pressure. This Dark Lord variant pours up with a modest effervescence creating a low, but sustainable tannish-light brown head that nicely rings the glass above the deep garnet black-nearly opaque body. Retention is okay, but the head dissipates quickly after the first sip. Amazing herb/spice (earhy) character from the Ancho chilis with the Guajillo peppers taking more of a subordinate roll. The flavor starts off a bit cloying, but is quickly managed by a moderate bitterness that creates balance along with a bittersweet chocolate character in the burnt honey finish that's intermingled with a light but discernible warmth from the Guajillo chilis. Surprisingly balanced. I know a few who "bashed" this beer when it was young and all I have to say to them is that, "patience is a virtue." I'm glad I had the opportunity to claim a golden ticket & purchase this bad boy. Cheers!

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2.75/5  rDev -31.3%

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%

4/5  rDev 0%

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4.04/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

3.57/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

5/5  rDev +25%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Numerous bottles of all vintages. This is a spicy beer. People complain that it's spicy. That's like complaining a double IPA is hoppy. It is the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. And by that I mean it is both insanely spicy and insanely sweet (as you would expect from dark lord) unlike some of the other variants the sweetness compliments the adjuncts perfectly. I love this stuff.

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3.57/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

2.74/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Thanks for sharing this one, Eric.

Same appearance as other Dark Lord variants: black, viscous, moderately carbonated without much head retention. Very leggy when swirled.

Loads of bourbon and vanilla on the nose, along with a very strong vegetal note from the peppers that becomes unpleasant once the beer warms up. Molasses, chocolate, salad, grass clippings. Pretty weird, I wonder how long this sat on peppers?

Sweet and plenty bourbony, it's much like the other barrel aged Dark Lord variants, only with a very up-front and very vegetal pepper character. Molasses, chocolate, vanilla, drying oak. Not much heat from the peppers, but a ton of grassiness that becomes a bit gross after a while. Viscous, almost syrupy but thankfully not cloying, with little noticeable alcohol.

This was by far my least favorite of all the barrel aged Dark Lords. I'd suggest drinking it very cold; the peppers come out way too much when it warms up.

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4.15/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4