Dad's Makin' Breakfast (Bourbon Barrel-Aged)
American Solera

 

 

2020 vintage; consumed on 9/5/2022

Pours a sludgy, oil-hued viscosity, impressively forming with a temporary ¾ finger of creamy, mocha foam before quickly fading to a sliver of luxurious froth, expansive collar, and the occasional web of soapy lacing clinging to the walls of the glass.

Aroma offers a huge amber maple introduction eventually easing to rich cocoa nuance and dark chocolate leanings over time; the bourbon influence is soft, imparting milder oaky vanillins as roasty coffee lingers gently through the back end of the bouquet.

Taste shows roasty coffee phasing to a moderate barrel prickle and oak leading into residual vanilla through the mid-palate, with maple gliding over the back end and chewy dark chocolate undertones flowing into the finish.

Mouthfeel brings a full body along with a subtle, prickly, moderate-low carbonation; a weighty silk levels to a slick back end and smooth warmth as the mildest grit progresses through the finish.

Robust semi-sweet chocolate depth pairs with intense maple and subtler coffee detailing for a forward, unabashedly abrasive splintering of breakfast subtext delineated over light roast and vague bourbon barrel.

 

 

 

While I didn’t drink it for breakfast because I am not a deviant, it did taste like a warm plate of flapjacks (I only want to call pancakes flapjacks from now on), with a cup of Irish coffee on the side. I would have preferred this to have about half the maple and twice the barrel, but really improved as it opened up. Poured insanely black and viscous, with no head, and punches you in the face with maple. It’s definitely on the “too sweet” side, but the coffee bitterness really helps provide some balance. Overall, a solid “dad” stout on Father’s Day!