El Duende
Bottle Logic Brewing

El DuendeEl Duende
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From:
Bottle Logic Brewing
 
California, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #467
ABV:
14.1%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,451
Avg:
4.34 | pDev: 7.83%
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
67
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 21, 2023
Added:
Nov 22, 2017
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  4
Bourbon Barrel Aged Horchata Stout, 14.1% ABV, BA Stout finished with Vanilla Beans and Cinnamon.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by GreesyFizeek:
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

3.67/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap at EBF in Boston, MA.

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

This one smells like cinnamon candy, booze, vanilla bean, dark fruit, and bourbon.

This has a slightly off-putting sugar and weird finish, but up front it's pretty nice. There's lots of vanilla, and nice barrel, but the cinnamon feels slightly artificial, waxy, and weirdly sweet.

This is slightly thin, but very creamy, with a lower level of carbonation.

This is very far from the best Bottle Logic I've had, but it's still nice enough, and certainly interesting.
Feb 08, 2018
More User Ratings:
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
El Duende (2019) from Bottle Logic. 16.9 fl oz bottle from @2beerdogs in NBS BIF #17. Reviewed 21/06/23 (Review 3126). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of label stamped “Release 2019”. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 56.8 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 60.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.5
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), slight light penetration.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, opaque. When rear lite, opaque except for light penetrating at the bottom edge (ruby) and the top edge (chrome yellow).
Head: Average (Maximum one cm, aggressive center pour), bronze, high density, quickly diminishing to a 0.5 mm ring of bubbles with no cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.5 – Weak cinnamon and vanilla and some roasted malt. No bourbon or barrels. No yeast, no hops. No ethanol (14 % ABV according to the label).
Flavor – 4.75 – Chocolate, cinnamon, weak vanilla, slightly sweet. Light bourbon on the aftertaste. No yeast, no hops. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. No ethanol flavor but pleasant gastric warming.
Palate – 4.5 – Medium; distinctly creamy; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.75 Another excellent stout from Bottle Logic! The cinnamon is overt but not obnoxious and is nicely played against the vanilla. The BB aging smooths out the potential harshness of the 14% ABV and makes this extremely drinkable. Thanks Derek!
Jun 21, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by paulish from New York

Sep 21, 2021
Photo of HattedClassic
Reviewed by HattedClassic from Virginia

4.56/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
The beer pours a nice brown and foamy head that takes a while to dissipate. The beer itself is a dark chocolate brown that comes off as black. The texture itself is pretty nice with the appearance of a hot chocolate made with milk and dark chocolate. It is also fairly even.

The smell is delicious with a healthy amount of spice. Both the saigon and ceylon cinnamon come upfront; one has a wooden note to it while the other is fairly sweet. The soft vanilla comes out to join the cinnamon and creates a sugary sweet note that is just right while the horchata adds a nice twist to it. The bourbon nor chocolate do not really come out though.

The taste is absolutely wonderful. The beer starts with both cinnamon notes and the vanilla bean notes but immediately moves to a smooth and tasty bourbon. The oak is fairly light and appears at the edges of the beer. The base stout itself is certainly something even though it's overshadowed by the cinnamon and the vanilla notes. It has a nice bitter version of a milk chocolate favor and is contrasted nicely by the oak note.

The texture is very good. It has a heavy body with a very silky and creamy texture with some light and tingling carbonation to it.

Overall, this is a delicious beer and aging has definitely been worth while. It is definitely cinnamon heavy and hues to more of a Mexican Chocolate stout without the pepper (and is better off for it). If you come across one, go for it. It will be worth it.
Feb 18, 2021
Photo of Pinz412
Reviewed by Pinz412 from Pennsylvania

4.46/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
El Duende pours a motor oil jet black with a minimal and fleeting tan head. The aroma initially was bourbon forward with the cinnamon and vanilla playing the supporting rolls. As it warmed the cinnamon took over with warm earthy notes and a sweetness that the vanilla complemented subtly. The first sips were a whilrwind of boozy flavor bombs with bourbon, cinnamon, and vanilla competing for the top spot. As my palate acclimated, things began to fall into place. The base stout has an incredibly decadent dark bitter chocolate quality that really anchored the whole beer in the end, and let the other components shine. Without a doubt, this is a cinnamon heavy experience. It added a warming feeling to the palate and esophagus and brought a deeper complexity than many other beers that use it. I can't pretend to tell the difference between Ceylon and Saigon cinnamon, but I can appreciate the final product. The bourbon dripped from every sip. The vanilla supplied some perceived sweetness to the spice of the oak and cinnamon. The mouthfeel was slick and luscious without pushing into an overly heavy body. This is billed as being horchata inspired, but it hits a bit closer to a Mexican chocolate to me. That's a minor quibble because the end result of El Duende is delicious.
Feb 17, 2021
Photo of Radcpa
Reviewed by Radcpa from Washington

4.52/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Very dark appearance with slight tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is a very pleasant fairly mild cinnamon with a touch of coffee. Taste is also a very pleasant spicy cinnamon with a touch of coffee. Nice feel.
Nov 07, 2020
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

4.47/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Poured from fridge temp. Pours motor oil black with a good amount of brown head. Cinnamon is heavy on the nose. A nice amount of milk chocolate, vanilla, and marshmallow also come through. Taste is really nice. Sweet upfront, but not overwhelming. Cinnamon and general Christmas spice (a bit of clove) come into play. Chocolate, molasses, milk, vanilla, and some dark fruit appear. Mouthfeel is insanely thick and creamy. Overall, an amazing stout.
Aug 01, 2020
 
Rated: 4.27 by impending from California

Jun 19, 2020
 
Rated: 4.27 by NolaHopHead from Louisiana

May 29, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by jschott75 from Illinois

Apr 15, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by jmbeerdude91 from Arizona

Mar 25, 2020
 
Rated: 4.35 by 7irondave from Massachusetts

Feb 01, 2020
Photo of ovaltine
Reviewed by ovaltine from Indiana

4.29/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Black color on the pour with a rich dark tan head, this is a gorgeous imperial stout. The nose is outrageously cinnamon forward, like “churros from Taco Bell” cinnamon forward, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but a bit surprising given the barrel (which is also present) and vanilla beans (which are not present).

The taste is all about the cinnamon and the barrel, with a bit of chocolate at the end of the taste, and the slightest bit of vanilla. The mouthfeel is spot on, with an almost chewy depth to it.

If this beer had a bit more vanilla to balance the cinnamon and barrel flavors, I may have spontaneously combusted. It is still excellent, and fortunately I have another bottle to age to see if the vanilla comes forward to dance with the cinnamon and the barrel.
Dec 30, 2019
Photo of rmpic82
Rated by rmpic82 from Kansas

4.29/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Loads of cinnamon/cassia and softer than previous iterations. Good brew.
Oct 11, 2019
 
Rated: 4.56 by Gambyt20 from Illinois

Sep 02, 2019
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

4.1/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Stark oily black with a tall pocky mocha foam swiftly collapsing to nothing but a silky surface.

Upon opening it smells eggfuckingzactly like horchata right out the bottle--that rice, vanilla and cinnamon refreshingness.

The taste up front has a strong punch of booze, as the slick silky body gives off more of a spiced rum character than bourbon, before gliding into lightly spicy yet vanilla smoothed cinnamon bark, which slowly translates into that creamy rice milk treat flavor.

This has a fairly minimal fluid carbonation running into a semi-dry swallow bringing out the flavor of Red Hots at times, without the heat. As it warms, a lil caramel dulce de leche pops in occasionally.
Aug 31, 2019
 
Rated: 4.34 by Ice_Cream_And_IPAs from New York

Jul 27, 2019
 
Rated: 4.5 by jonbonfondle from Minnesota

Jul 07, 2019
 
Rated: 3.12 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Jun 27, 2019
 
Rated: 4.5 by mrcraft from California

Jun 25, 2019
El Duende from Bottle Logic Brewing
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 67 ratings