Impress the King
Hoppy Trout Brewing Company

Drinking this at The Hoppy Trout Brewing Company in Beautiful downtown Andrews NC in The Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.
Poured from a tap into a 10 ounce tulip glass.
Looks dark brown almost black with a nice foamy tannish head that dropped quickly to a thin ring.
Smells lightly bready, sweet, rum, chocolate and vanilla.
Taste follows the nose nicely not boozy at all and a nice roasted smoky finish on the back of my palate.
Mouth feel is medium for the style.
Overall a very nice Imperial Stout that I would definitely order again.
Cheers!

Imperial stout aged for 14 weeks in 10-year-old Chatanooga Whiskey barrels. Poured from a pint can into a Fibonacci tulip. The pour is black with medium viscosity. It has very little carbonation and a rough pour doesn't produce much head (quite normal for a barrel-aged beer). I get a lot of roastiness on the nose, dark chocolate, espresso, and roasted malt, with faint barrel notes of toasted oak, vanilla, and coconut.

Full body with a firm feel and a nicely-balanced roasty flavor. Lots of roasted malt up front along with some toffee and unsweetened chocolate. At mid-palate, a little vanilla creeps in - just enough to remind you this baby spent some time in the barrel. The barrel character is fairly subdued here, most likely because it wasn't in the barrel too long. It doesn't have those aggressive bourbon-forward notes that many beers of this type have. Instead, it delivers a traditional Russian Imperial Stout with those wonderful flavors of burnt chocolate cake and rum. The roastiness carries throught the finish, which features lingering flavors of roasted malt, sticky molasses, and brown sugar.

Overall, a very enjoyable stout. I have had too many bad experiences with barrel-aged stouts under 10% abv, so I was expecting to be disappointed with this one. Nevertheless, I like this brewer's beers so I was more than happy to give this a try. Glad I did. It's not one of those liqueur-like over-the-top barrel-aged offerings. If you like a good old fashioned RIS, give this a try. It reminds me a little bit of barrel-aged Siberian Night.

First had poured from 22-oz. bomber, label reading “Seasonal Release bottle # 116,” into faceted mug. Fairly light-bodied beer, which surprisingly supports the bourbon and carries the ABV very well, but not the best value at $18.00.