Rack & Ruin
Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery

Review: 2374
Name: Rack & Ruin
Brewery: Jackie O's
Location: Athen, OH
Style: Barrel Aged Stout
ABV: 13.1%
Canned: 2021
Date: 24 April 2025
A co-worker gave me the beer. Thank you. I am serving the beer at 50 degrees in a tulip glass. The pour created an airy, one-fingered, dark tan head with fair retention. The quick dissipation left no lacing on the glass. The color is jet black with a rusty-red hue and is semi-transparent, charting at 30. This beer's appearance is average; I would have liked to see a longer-lasting head, but it is understandable because of the ABV.
Nosing the glass, I smelled vanilla, nuttiness, soy sauce, anise, bourbon, oak, char, leather, molasses, dark brown sugar, earthiness, dark chocolate, medium-roasted coffee, caramel, raisins, and toffee.
Sipping the beer, I taste dark chocolate, dark roasted malts, nuttiness, roasted coffee, bourbon, vanilla, char, Maillard, leather, molasses, treacle, caramel, toffee, oak, oats, dried cherries, and grassy and light herbal notes.
The mouthfeel is chewy, finish luscious, and smooth with some warming. The body is heavy and has low carbonation.
I don't know what a Bakewell tart or oatcake tastes like, but the beer is screaming with cocoa, oats, and nuts. The barrel-aged stout has many big, bold flavors, from the roasted malts to the adjuncts. Rack and Ruin is a sipper.

 

 

 

 

375ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours jet black in color with a one-finger foamy khaki colored head that reduces to a ring around the glass

S- rich aromas of nutty chocolate fudge, caramel, toffee and brownie. Undertones of wet oak, vanilla and heavy cream

T- chocolate brownie batter up front mixes with a bold nutty note. Mid-palate gives flavors of caramel swirl, followed by some oaky bourbon. The finish brings out a vanilla note, as well as some creamy lactose. Lingers of chocolate, barrel and light nuts

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns slightly creamy into a warming finish

 

 

Brownish black matte body with a finger of brown foam. Smell and taste are the same on this one, but pretty complex, so sniff and sip away! Moderate yet constant rum barrel meets great chocolate, molasses and slight oatmeal cookie, with accenting vanilla, nuts, and classic jackie o's malt. Taste has more staying power than the nose. Feel has plenyt of rum booze, but the oak part of the barrel is sneaky strong too, sticky and smooth malt runs the rest of the show with accenting nuts, warm and full bodied without being overly heavy or viscous

 

 

 

12.7 oz bottle, 2021 vintage, poured into a tulip glass at 55 degrees F:
L - black as oil with a hazelnut head that lingered around the edges
S - molasses, vanilla
T - great blend of flavors, bourbon, vanilla, molasses, nuts
F - thick silky mouthfeel with minimal carbonation
O - great beer, wonderful blend of flavors

Rack & Ruin is a classic Jackie O's deep stout. The bourbon is always in the front and it is rich and sweet. The pecans come through the most, for me, on the additions and the wood of the barrel holds its own. Another enjoyable BA addition to the lineup; keep 'em coming.

Muddy opaque dark brown to black, almost like melted chocolate, under a moderate tan foam that disperses to a thin khaki ridge.

Any pastry notes are subtle, with woody oak and roasty malt taking center stage, only exhaling the vanilla and oak vanillin simultaneously at the finish. As it warms, though, it does almost transform into brownie batter. However, the added nuts lead it back into bitter and woody barrel tannin that's nearly resinous, steering it in to BA stout territory reminiscent of the OGs, even with hints of American barleywine qualities.

The body is a little lighter than I'd want, but not Black Maple thin, gradually increasing in warmth as it flows all the way down the hatch.

One more round of thanks to fiver29 for a great back of Ohio beer. This 375ML got mixed up with some bad company in the fridge & overlooked. No longer.

The Ruin is black with a short head that doesn’t live as long as your average mayfly. Nose is nutty, with some chocolate & vanilla. No bourbon. Hope it’s lurking in the taste.

Rack & Ruin should be renamed Nut & Nut. Nuts flamethrow the palate immediately & I suddenly feel like hiding acorns in the yard. Everything else feels tame & subdued: chocolate, vanilla, marzipan, warming alcohol, with – perhaps – an echo of bourbon. Thickness is definitely the high note & what’s in my glass is plenty for this guy.

An unusually weak offering from a stellar brewery but, looking at the other reviews, I feel like I may have received a weird bottle or the brew is aging oddly. Decent enough.

A - Dark brown pour with little to no lacing.

S - Almonds, Bourbon, alcohol, vanilla.

T - Alcohol, almond, vanilla, cocoa, followed by more alcohol.

M - Silky smooth, slick, lip smacking sticky.

O - So happy to have gotten a bottle of this, the 13% is really deceiving.

 

 

Description: Beer is glassy, black and shiny with absolutely no head or lacing. Maybe a few small bubbles but not many. Aroma is oak, bourbon and cocoa with noticeable sweetness. The smell is prominent but a little one note with bourbon dominating and other scents in the background. Taste is still bourbon forward but with lactose and cocoa more apparent. There's a lingering chocolate taste on the finish and the alcohol is evident. The almonds and pecans are tough to pick up and without seeing it on the label it wouldn't have crossed my mind. Feel is thick and smooth with low carbonation. This beer coats the mouth in a nice way.

Overall: 4.5 (This beer is very good and I would definitely drink it again) Another outstanding stout from JO's. This is a rich, decadent dessert beer to be sipped slowly. There wasn't anything about this that made it a particular standout, just an all-around great beer.