Jamaician Rum Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
Boulevard Brewing Co.

Boulevard Jamaican Rum Barrel-aged Imperial Stout, 14.5%, 18 IBU. Pours black with no head. Nose is rum and coffee, taste follows, with a slight bitter close. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

Update: Trying a second one with a few months age, and wow. Tasting the rum and chocolate

12oz bottle with a best by date of 29SEP2019, opened 1-6-20.
Black stout with a 1/4" tan head that instantly falls to a ring.
Huge nose full of molasses, brown sugar, wood, boozy rum, dark fruit - raisin, fig, black cherry. Chocolate.
Initial hit of sweet brown sugar and booze soaked dark fruit. Rum is still prominent...so different from a BBA beer, and good. I get a perception in my head of a banana caramelized in a rum induced fire. Wood. Huge malty base but the rum barrel is the star of the show.
Full body, medium carbonation. Mouthfeel is medium, not as viscous as I would expect of an IS. Very long and boozy finish. Very SMOOTH sipping. Caught this at the right time for my tastes.
Very good.

 

Love it!

 

L: pours a bit thin, see through black but pitch black in the glass with no head
S: the rum barrel jumps out of the glass, seeet aroma is inviting
T: starts with nice chocolate and rum the finish has a long bitter and almost a charcoal flavor.
F: very thin for a 14% ba stout, slightly warming.

A - Dark brown borderline black pour with tan dense lacing. Nice legs on the side of the glass but not as thick as the Whiskey Barrel Aged version.

S - Rum really hits the nose along with light toasted cocoa, alcohol, spice, and roasted brown sugar.

T - Initial hit of flavor was alcohol, rum, spice, roasted brown sugar, and some oak tannin.

M - Thick texture throughout, sticky on the lips, and velvety texture with some heat.

O - Nice blend from top to bottom. I am shocked because I am rating this higher than the Whiskey Barrel Aged version. I normally prefer Whiskey / Bourbon barrel beers to Rum. This is nicely done.

Aroma is layered with chocolate, vanilla bean, a little umami / butter even, slight rum alcohol burn; however, that last note is more prevalent on the tongue. There is some deep fudge & roasted nut upfront but the back end is almost straight rum. It works partly but needs a little more balance.

 

 

Great take as all great stouts warmth and time do this one quite well

 

 

12oz bottle. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, light brown head of foam. It smelled of rum, oak, vanilla, chocolate and molasses. Rum, vanilla, dark chocolate and burnt molasses taste.

Friday, November 23, 2018 11:00 PM
12 ounce bottle from variety pack poured to wine glass
Sight: Black, red on edges against the light, small tan foam, appears clear
Smell: fragrant, barrel aroma, boozy on drinking
Taste: Excellent, sweet, low bitterness
Feel: medium carbonation, creamy, good follow through, long finish-alcohol comes out and slight bitter/tart aftertaste
"excellent beer
repeat: yes
look for: yes

Pours black with a finger of khaki foam. Head retention is okay. Aroma is rum, spice, and roasty, toasty, earthy malts. The list of adjectives is short, but the rum really is huge. Not much else is needed after that. Flavor profile is huge and complex. First, notes of roasty, toasty malts dance by before rum, spices, caramel, burnt sugar, and char take center stage. It finishes with a spike of heat and cocoa. The 14% ABV plays a big role here, heating up the back end of the flavor profile. Mouth feel starts smooth and still, but crescendos into a fuzzy, nappy, velvety texture. It lands at an unbashful thick consistency. Overall, a splendid big stout with a big spike of rum.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 12oz bottle.

A: Black with a rich head and very nice lacing.
N: Boozy, rum, malt, caramel, and chocolate.
T: Follows the nose, this is a big boozy beer with lots of flavor, rum is very forward with a sweet malt hit, caramel is soft, some chocolate and light char.
M: Full
O: A very well done BA Stout, was really happy with the flavors on this one.

I definitely prefer bourbon barrels to rum, but this is a tasty change of pace. The alcohol from the barrel is strong but well incorporated. Rum notes of molasses, burnt brown sugar, and coconut are prevalent and enticing both in the aroma and on the palate. Some faint roasted coffee and cocoa peeks through just enough to provide balance. The finish is particularly pleasing, a warming, mellow, lingering rum note. Boulevard's barrel program is a wonderfully affordable part of my beer diet.

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 9/29/2017. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a small fairly dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, rum, toasted oak, nuts, fudge brownie, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Some increasing booze in the aromas as it warms, but not too overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, rum barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, rum, toasted oak, nuts, fudge brownie, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Mild roast/char bitterness and rum/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, rum, toasted oak, nuts, fudge brownie, dark/brown bread, coconut, light dark fruit/smoke/char, leather, tobacco, herbal, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, rum barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet and rum/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness and rum/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Lightly increasing warmth of 14.5%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, rum barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish. Amazingly rich malt complexity and perfect rum barrel integration; with light fruity yeast and earthy hops against sweetness. Not overly boozy/tannic on barrels in the taste. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example as expected. Rum barrel beers can be polarizing, but it works perfectly in this instance. Liked this more than the whiskey barrel version.