Bourbon Barrel Aged Cafe Rat Queen
Barncat Artisan Ales

Labelled as Breakfast Queen, but I believe this is the same beer. Durand purchase. 473 ml can served cold into a chalice.

Appearance - Midnight black with a small half finger of tan foam that fizzles out in under a minute.

Smell - Lots of coffee, lots of chocolate and lots of bourbon. Interesting interplay between the three big smells with coffee being the front runner.

Taste - Big and boozy, lots of coffee, quite a bit of sweetness and a solid bourbon backbone. A little molasses and cocoa powder for added measure. Chocolate featured more prominently here than I would've expected, but it does really help bridge the gap between coffee and bourbon.

Mouthfeel - Full bodied and a bit hot. Carbonation is low and feel is smooth thick and luxurious.

Overall - Well orchestrated and surprisingly cohesive brew made for a nice evening sipper.

Poured at ~50 degrees. Initial reaction is that this is a nice looking beer. Deep, deep brown with a slight red tinge on the pour. Decent dark tan colored head that hung around for a minute or so. Persistent ring around the edge of the glass. Aroma is not shy, coming out of the glass in waves. From afar, I almost thought I got some maple syrup, but up close the sweetness seems to be more of the lactose variety. Nice barrel notes round out the overall aroma. I'm not getting any coffee.

In the mouth, this is excellent. While the aroma was slightly sweeter than what my personal preference would consider ideal, that's not at all the case on the tongue. The barrel greets you right up front, but without being so in your face as to distract from the roast an faint coffee. The sweetness shows up more on the back end, but I find it rounds out the flavor profile quite nicely. Full bodied and extremely smooth. Very nice beer.