Double Barrel Slumber Party (2023) (Smoke Wagon/Bulleit)
Southern Grist Brewing Co.

2023 vintage, into a snifter.

Pours jet black, very little foam if any. Aroma is fresh fudge and booze. Lots and lots of booze. Red fruit bourbon, a little spices, and heavy rich chocolate. Flavor is insane. Lots of chocolate up front, from sweet milk chocolate on the front to fudge and caramel on the mid palate to dark cocoa and espresso on the finish, ending on a burnt note. There's a huge red fruit note in the middle, definitely from the bourbon, that's just exceptional. It's not sweet but quite strong and cuts the chocolate and caramel perfectly. On the back end, it moves into dark coffee and ends extremely bitter and roasty. There's also a good bit of vanilla up front which transitions into a cinnamon note which remains throughout. I feel like it's sweet, and it finishes sticky, but that seems to be solely a function of the ABV, there's very little actual sugars left in this. It reminds me a lot of a less sugary version of Goose Island Vanilla Rye with way more spice and bitterness, and while I've never had Smoke Wagon, I definitely taste Bulleit. Feel is great, extremely thick and syrupy like any Southern Grist BBA stout, but this one even more so. The lack of cloying sweetness makes the feel of this one stand out. It's so thick and heavy that the bitterness and spice lingers long after the finish should be done.

Overall, an insane stout from the best pastry stout brewery in Tennessee. I feel like I never want to drink their pastry stouts and am surprised at how much I like them, but whenever I seek out an un-adjuncted stout they make, it's even better than some stouts I've paid twice as much for. This one is a beautifully thick and rich base stout with an interesting combination of bourbon characteristics overtop, and I have another bottle of the same vintage with the same stout, albeit lower ABV, with different aging and barrels waiting for the weekend.