Double Barrel Cinnamon And Vanilla Rare DOS (Sunday 2017)
Cycle Brewing

Taster. Near black pour, a few brown bubbles fade away. Sweet, cinnamon accents throughout. Solid stout base, roasty, chocolate, coffee. Oily and slick. Cinnamon toast.

 

 

Got this one from desp59 recently.

From a bomber into a snifter
4 beers for 4 years
Sunday 2017: Bourbon barrel then cinnamon vanilla whisky barrel aged imperial stout

APPEARANCE: Black pour yields a three finger, medium looking, creamy dark tan head with great retention. Pitch black body with almost no carbonation evident. Head slowly recedes to a thick creamy cap. A splotch wisp remains leaving touches of lacing down the glass as it empties. Solid looking, as usual.

SMELL: Big nose of bourbon barrel, oak, vanilla cream, milk chocolate, pure chocolate, hints of roasted aromas and a hefty dose of cinnamon as well. Bold and enticing.

TASTE: Bourbon flavors, oak, milk chocolate, some vanilla creamy flavors and spicy cinnamon up front. Flavorful for sure. A dose of cinnamon, sweet cream and spicy alcohol at the swallow, then a bold finish of bourbon, oak, creamy vanilla and milk chocolate, some roasted coffee flavors, brownies, some spicy cinnamon and alcohol as well. Very rich and decadent, with plenty of chocolate and brownie and even some hazelnut flavors lingering alongside the barrel components.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Semi-creamy on the palate, goes down fine with a bit of a burn and finishes sticky on the palate. Some heat lingers.

OVERALL: Delicious. Cinnamon additions can be a hit-or-miss endeavor but this one is a hit all day long. Well measured and certainly not overpowering, the cinnamon component works great with the rich base stout and the whisky barrel. Lots of sweet, decadent flavors here and the roasted base is tough enough to stand up to the challenge. Always a fan of these guys and would have a difficult time living within a two hour radius. Thanks again, desp!

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 7/2017. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1 finger fairly dense and rocky dark tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, toffee, fudge, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, smoke, oak char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Dam nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, vanilla, cinnamon, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, toffee, fudge, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, smoke, oak char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Very mild herbal, grass, roast, char bitterness; and cinnamon/bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, toffee, fudge, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, dark bread/crust, coconut, licorice, dark fruit, light smoke/char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, vanilla, cinnamon, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a fantastic roast/hop bitter/sweet, and cinnamon/bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying sweetness after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and cinnamon/bourbon/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and slightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 11%, with zero lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an amazing barrel aged flavored imperial stout. All around amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, vanilla, cinnamon, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/spicy/tannic/drying finish. Amazingly soft/silky feel for the ABV. Perfectly balanced super rich malts, flavorings, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. Not overwhelming on any aspect. A highly enjoyable offering, and top tier quality style example. One of their best ones so far. Aged amazingly.

 

 

 

650 mL bottle. Black with a slight khaki head. Smells of whiskey, vanilla extract, and slight cinnamon. Tastes of whiskey, cinnamon, some chocolate. Roasted malt and moderate sweetness. Vanilla in the back end. Medium body. Alcoholic, but not offensively so. A tasty beer without being too sweet.