Big Bang - Russell’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

Pour looks kind of ho-hum brown until held to the light. Crystal clear deep, deep (garnet?) red. Quarter inch of cream colored head that falls to a hefty ring of really fine bubbles that cling like mad but leave no lacing residue. This is a looker - let's hope everything else lives up to the visually stunning appearance!

Plenty of sweet bourbon on the nose with caramel/toffee/brown sugary overtones with just a bit of vanilla. Getting some dark fruit - fig and date. A different sweetness - like honey or maple syrup but vague and not strong enough other than delivering a side note. Some oaky spiciness.

The taste - just WOW. There's actually some hoppy resins going on over everything else. The oaky notes come to the fore rapidly followed by rich bourbon and a much more noticeable vanilla. Medium sweet - dark fruity sweetness leaning more towards dates and raisins. Brown sugar and caramel come through clearly. I get a touch of honey (not maple), dark bready malts, and a spice like snickerdoodle cookies. As the taste fades there's a little tiny bit of anisette-like spice. There's also a little kiss of stone fruit that does a really fast fly by - seems like apricot.

It's a little less than medium-bodied on the feel. Smoothly carbonated. Slightly drying with a tad bit of residual sweetness. There's a little phenolic oak sting in the aftertaste and a lingering flavor of those cookies. And in the PSA portion of my post - it's drinking far too easily for a 14% beer.

Another noteworthy brew from Saco, ME

This one pours a dark amber-ish color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells quite oaky, with caramel, toffee, brown sugar, boozy spice, and maple.

I think I like the rye variant of this one slightly more, but still is still quite enjoyable. It’s super caramelly, with a nice oaky and spicy barrel character, and some maple candy and toffee notes.

This is medium bodied, candied and sticky, with not too much booziness to it.

I love basically every barrel variant of Big Bang, as the barrel tends to play well and tamp down the big hoppiness of the base barleywine.

Poured at fridge temp, but allowed to sit in the glass for 10 minutes before tasting. Pours a very dark brown with about an inch of tan head. The nose is bursting with toffee and bourbon. Some vanilla, figs, and brown sugar come through as well. VERY nice.

The taste is excellent. The hops are evident here. Mild bitterness, toffee, vanilla, huge bourbon notes, figs, apricots, honey, biscuits, ginger snaps, and cinnamon. Lovely.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice graham cracker and bourbon aftertaste. Excellent barleywine.