Mocha Smuggler
Funky Buddha Brewery

Got this from mom and dad a few years back. Thank you!

From a bomber into a snifter
Whisky barrel aged imperial porter with coffee, chocolate and vanilla
The Living Barrel Series

APPEARANCE: Pours out opaque black and yields a 2+ finger, thinner looking, crackly, foamy dark tan head with lousy retention. Head quickly crackles down to a full, creamy cap, then to a swirly wisp and ring. Jet black body with piles of carbonation evident, though that calms quickly.

SMELL: Lots of coffee on the nose still, roasted, bitter coffee, with vanilla beans, whisk, some oak barrel and chocolate brownies as well. Bold and enticing.

TASTE: Roasted coffee beans with whisky, oak barrels and vanilla up front, with a solid shot of boozy barrels at the swallow. Bold finish of roasted, bitter coffee, vanilla beans, chocolate brownies, and plenty of sweet caramel linger on the palate. Lots of decadent whisky barrels make this a smooth ride. Very nice.

PALATE: Medium body and slightly higher levels of carbonation for the style. Creamy on the palate, goes down fine with a bit of a burn at the swallow and finishes rather sticky. Plenty of heat lingers here.

OVERALL: Really nice stuff. The whisky barrels conduct the show but the base stout and coffee addition are the still quite wonderful. Good look and feel on this one too. I always used to love when Funky B. showed up at my house, but it’s been quite a few years now. Strangely enough I still had this one in my parents’ basement that they’d picked up for me before COVID. It’s still wonderful almost five years later. Cheers!

 

Poured at 53 degrees, a thin incomplete cinnamon brown fizzy cap sits atop a black with reddish brown edges liquid; no retention and thin ring disappears quickly; micro dots of lace and medium plus legs present upon swirl. Vanilla, whiskey, chocolate, roasted coffee beans nose; some booze on the retro nasal. Taste is sweet chocolate up front, followed by vanilla and caramel; layers of bitter roast coffee and phenolic booze add depth in the middle; bitter sweet dark chocolate, sweet milk chocolate and vanilla on the back end. Full minus body, not syrupy like some FB Stouts; slightly hot from the 11.2%; lite carbonation; lite dry barrel tongue coating finish. Overall, I like boozy beers and this fits the bill; as advertised, I taste cocoa, vanilla, coffee and whiskey; it’s not cloying and the bitter roast coffee and booze helps keep the whole in balance; the body is lightish (hey, it’s a Porter) the feel is smooth and dry - very easy drinking for the abv, and definitely not a sipper; in sum, a great release from FB that surprisingly doesn’t scream FB nose and/or body.

Poured a black body with no head or lace. The aroma is a mix of vanilla and chocolate along with some booze. A little hot thanks to the booze, medium body and slick so not hard to drink, a vanilla-tinted chocolate sweetness dominates the beer along with some boozy heat and roasted edges on the finish.