Rested Reserve
Boulevard Brewing Co.

(initial review from November 2023) HO-LEE tung-stompin,palate-whompin flavor maltman!Unbelievably well balanced,complex,boozy,BA imperial stout w/barleywine notes&thick,mouthcoating aftertaste!Big,huge boozy/whisky/rye/bourbony/malty/caramelly/wheaty/slightly butterscotchy-vinous backend +an incredibly warming, yet not overpoweringly alcoholic finish. And the flavors don't fade too much as it warms up (& you along with it!).

Yesterdays review):Another stowaway in the back of the basement beer fridge and it's held up well for a cellared/refrigerated years old with decent carbonation/lacing and all flavors muted & mellowed but detectable.

Boulevard Rested Reserve has a medium, tan head and a very dark-brown appearance, with no lacing. The aroma is of black bread and whiskey. The flavor is sweet and of coffee, chocolate, liqueur chocolates, whiskey, and raisins. Rested Reserve has relatively-low bitterness, a heavy body, and a semi-sweet finish.

RJT

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours jet black in color with a one finger creamy dark brown head that has good retention

S- aroma has a dark berry note initially, if I didn’t know better I’d say this was port barrel aged. Notes of dark chocolate, black cherry, caramel, fruit cake, molasses, anise. As it warms, the barrels emerge, adding peppery oak, vanilla and an enhancing caramel aroma

T- rich and malty dark chocolate up front with dark fruit notes of black cherry, fig & dates. Mid-palate gives caramel& molasses before the barrels emerge, adding oak, light barrel juice and a hint of peppery rye. Finishes with more chocolate with a linger of bourbon and vanilla

M- heavy body with moderate carbonation leads to a thick and creamy mouthfeel that turns almost chewy into a velvety finish

12 ounce bottle, please enjoy by 04OCT2025 stamped on the label. Big thanks to Brutaltruth for this! Served in snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about a half inch or so tan head that didn't stick around for too long. There's a decent amount of lacing. I like the aroma a lot, the brew smells like bourbon, rye whiskey, vanilla, roasted malt, dark fruit/cherries and some vanilla. I think the taste is pretty much like the aroma, but there's also the addition of some dark bread, oak, earthy, chocolate and coconut flavors. There's a lot going on with the flavor here! Mouthfeel/body is full, it's slick and a bit syrupy with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was a pretty good overall brew, wish I had another bottle or 2 of this one!

12 oz bottle ($5.69) served in a Belgian snifter. A Best By date of 4 October 2025 is stamped on the back label.

This poured with no head although a very thin tan ring formed that proved to be more durable than expected. The pour looked full bodied and it certainly is, and with a nice smooth, mouthfeel. Drinks more like a 8-9% ABV beer than the actual 12%. That high ABV is clearly suggested by the strong bourbon, rye, and whiskey barrel notes in the flavor. It's surprisingly fruity and, perhaps, a touch sweeter than optional for me.

Overall. An exceptional BBA stout worth seeking out.

 

 

Rested Reserve - from Boulevard. Four pack of 12 fl oz bottles purchased from Franklin Beer Co, Franklin, PA, 30/05/24, $ 17.50 (Including tax), $ 0.365/fl oz. Reviewed 02/07/24 (Review 3309). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Back label stamped “Please Enjoy By 04Oct2025”. Stored on room temperature shelf at the distributor, 34 degrees at home. Served at 54.5 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 58.6 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same, with light penetration only at the edges, ruby.
Head – Small (Maximum 0.4 cm, aggressive center pour), buff lightening to tan as it oxygenates, medium density, fizzy, leaving a 0.3 cm crown fed by active carbonation and a thin, whispery cap.
Lacing – Fair. Narrow band of near-microscopic to tiny bubbles with some wide, low, worn-down mountains.
Aroma – 4 – Cocoa. No yeast, no hops, no alcohol (12 % ABV, according to the can), weak bourbon.
Flavor – 4.25 – Cocoa and smooth bourbon. No yeast, no hops, no alcohol. Some cherry as it warms. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Immediate gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; almost creamy; soft but lively carbonation.
Final Impression and summation: 4.25 Decent sipper, but definitely allow it to warm up!

Look: It pours very dark brown with a dark brown head. It has low head retntion.

Smell: It is quite boozy in the aroma with plenty of bourbon. There are roasted elements with dark fruits and cherries with light earth. There are light coffee notes in the background with a tad bit of vanilla.

Taste: It has some dark chocolate and roast flavors up front with bourbon and dark cherries. There are other dark fruits with low levels of vanilla.

Feel: It has a full body with strong alcohol warming.

Overall, a complex array of aroma and flavors with pleasant alcohol.

Pours out thick and black like used motor oil. A small brown head; medium-poor retention--a thin tan ring lingers.

Sweet fudge, oak, bourbon, toasted coconut, caramel, vanilla, raisin.

Huge dark chocolate and fudge upfront, charred oak, moderate bourbon presence, vanilla, toasted coconut, tobacco and raising. Lingering caramel-vanilla sweetness, and warm going down.

Thick, sludgy, oily, lightly carbonated, sticky, lingers with oils and sugar.

Top-tier BBA stout. Highly recommended!

Drank 5/18/2024. Best by: 10/4/25.....hate best by dates. but oh well.
Pour is jet black with a dense cap of deeply cinnamon head. Fades quickly to a ring around the glass and dollop in the center.
Nose is bourbon, oak, hint of spicy rye, roasted malt, molasses.
Taste follows. Bourbon, vanilla, molasses, chocolate, fudge, hint of rye spice on the finish.
Dense, creamy, fully body. Low carbonation.

Pours a deep brown with a finger of dark tan foam. The nose is brown sugar and not much else. Thick and warming. The flavor is brown sugar, dark chocolate fudge, coffee. Almost like fudge syrup on ice cream or devils food cake frosting. Decedent and dessert like.

I knew this was going to be one heavy stout the pour was extremely dark and syrup like pitch black wonderful with a high ABV that makes for a surprising full inch of deep mocha foam that sits for longer than I am typing. Caramel and chocolate highlight with a good mesh of bourbon barrel but no burn to the nose. Well I can't really call this a desert stout with plenty of sour cherry and port wine flavor mixed barrel it definitely bites but it does have a crescent lining of sweetness with the chocolate and caramel like malt sweetness that rounds all this. Drinks definitely thick and heavy lingering bitterness of the hops makes itself know after the second sip.

Overall an intense beer I can see the Woodford Reserve influence it has that cherry bourbon smooth flavor I enjoy from the whiskey itself.

 

Black as pitch pour. Poured very aggressively in a tulip glass to get a caramel brown head. Coats the glass like burnt motor oil.
Chocolatey, bourbony and quite high on the sweetness scale.
Feel is heavy, oily, syrupy like cough syrup. No carbonation at all, which was a slight letdown.
I'd classify this one at a desert beverage. If there ever was a brew I'd consider pouring over ice cream this would be the one.
Sorry I had to give that up.

Gorgeous color. Deep, heavy, thick. Nice head, and very clingy.

Heavy smell, rich.

Drinks nicely. ABV extremely well hidden. Very smooth, not thick.

Excellent beer.

neat beer here, sweet and velvety smooth, elegant for its size, no frills but heady barrels, wheated bourbon and rye together, mature and wintery and awesome, not that boozy for its size but tons of body and its on the palate a long time after each sip. syrupy black liquid with more head than a lot of these have, lasting near inch of deep mocha head, surprisingly lively. the nose is sweet and complex with layers of dried cherry, tobacco, vanilla, chestnut, and chocolate, some nice roasted bitterness is mellowed by good whiskey and oak character, some toffee to it, char, and a lovely fruity layer. the flavor is similar, raisin and prune and fig up front, espresso bitterness and crema richness, along with some spiciness from the rye which comes out more and more as this warms, bitter baking chocolate, some licorice too, wintery and almost spiced tasting. honey and vanilla from the barrels, a fluffy body suggesting some wheat at the core of this, and a long bittersweet linger, cola and molasses come to mind here. warm but not hot, sweet but not diabetic, huge but still oddly drinkable, really cool beer, distinct from many others in this style space due to the unique barrels and the complex malt bill. warms up well. we dont see a ton of boulevard draft around idaho, especially this heady stuff, so i was pumped to score a glass of this wintery treat!

 

Solid stout. Very nice