Bourbon Barrel-Aged Sweet Chocolate Love
Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pour was huge, honestly one of the best i have seen in a long time. Dark as night with a towering head of tan that came up and over the top of the glass and coated everything with a thick, sticky layer of brown lacing that was not going anywhere.

Aroma is filling up the room with huge notes of coffee, chocolate, touches of vanilla and a warming, boozy note. Bringing it up to room temperature really starts to bring these out even more. Huge notes of roasted and lightly smoked notes coming up towards the surface. Rich, creamy and full bodied feel dump into the wonderfully large stout. Huge notes of coffee, cocoa, roasted malts, some light boozy notes, hints of vanilla and touches of oak and almost bourbon like booziness. Warming brings hints of light molasses and cookie dough to the equation now.

 

 

 

 

 

A - Black beer, little red and brown on the sides. Small brown head that left some decent lace behind.

S - Chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak. Pretty solid.

T - Taste not as good as the promising nose. Flavors are a little thinned out and the bourbon is a little strong and souring on the end.

M - A little thin, and too much carbonation on this one.

O - Not a bad milk stout, but not great. Barrel seems to have thinned it out a bit and left it a little sour on the end.

22oz bottle poured into a Jackie O's snifter. Bottle courtesy of normyk, thanks Rob! Split with russwbeck.

Bottle #115/216

A - Pours an incredibly dark black, I was surprised by the color of this beer. A thin, tan, 0.5-fingered head forms and doesn't last very long. Some alcohol legs on this but not much lacing.

S - Nose is full of sweet chocolate and bourbon. I'm actually getting some hints of dark fruit as well, perhaps currants? A bit of vanilla as well. Unfortunately it does have a bit of sourness as well to it..

T - At first, it has a tasty chocolateness with smooth malts that almost reminds me of chocolate chip pancakes. The bourbon hits fast and quick next, adding a little tingle in the throat. It's quite sweet at first, but again, it has a little bit of tartness at the end... this may be the start of an infection.

M - Mouthfeel is where this beer really falters. It is much too thin and watery, and it moves too quickly through the mouth to leave any lasting impressions. Moderately low carbonation. If infected, I'm sure the reduced mouthfeel could be a side effect? Not sure.

D/O - Honestly this is a bit of a disappointment. Not chocolatey enough given the name and the tart cherries just kills this for me. Would love to try this on tap cause I'm not sure this bottle is all there..

Big thanks to nhindian for sharing this with me! Bottle #115/216

A: Big dark pour with a nicely sized brown head. The retention isn't great but it laces nicely

S: Lots of alcohol in the smell. Really only getting bourbon and sweetness on the smell. Perhaps a hint of chocolate but not particularly balanced.

T: Almost sour on the front end, alcohol and bourbon come after with a hint of roastiness at the end. Maybe some dark fruits throughout, but not a lot of chocolate. The taste is really unbalanced. Dominated by bourbon without a lot else.

MF: While this beer has a heavy body, it is way more thin than I had hoped for. It does have decent carbonation but pretty underwhelmed.

O: Sort of surprised by the sourness on the front and the lack of chocolate. Bourbon takes too much away from the flavor of the beer, which is overall a bit watered down. Expected far more from this.

Poured into a snifter. Bottle #27 of 216. I'm not sure what vintage that corresponds to.

4.0 A: Black and appears to be quite viscous. Two fingers of creamy brown head with about average retention and a decent sized ring of lacing.

4.5 S: The name is pretty accurate. Big bourbon contribution, tons of chocolate, and my nose loves it. Lots of vanilla, a good amount of oak, some booze, leather, and melon from the bourbon and barrel. Big hit of semi-sweet chocolate and caramel with a light roastiness. That not quite describable Jackie O's house aroma is in there too. Sweet and savory.

4.0 T: The taste is a bit surprising. There are big chocolate and bourbon components again, but this isn't as rich as I was expecting. The chocolate gives a lot of chocolate flavor, but not the velvety texture I had hoped for. Rather, it's more a a chalky unrefined chocolate if that makes any sense. Perhaps the underlying stout is just lacking in that regard. Anyway, less vanilla than the nose suggests, but the other bourbon components come on with some power. Sweet caramel maltiness and light roastiness.

3.5 M: Medium body which is much lighter than I would prefer with the direction they went with this. Good moderate carbonation. Could be creamier, but it goes down quite easy.

4.0 D: Good beer, but it doesn't really compare to the other stouts that Jackie O's offers. This is mighty tasty as is, but I'd like to see a richer body to give the impression of a creamy chocolate milkshake or something along those lines.

Many, many thanks to csmiley for the bottle.

Bottle 32/216

Bourbon Barrel Sweet Chocolate Love pours a very dark chocolate fudge color. Looks damn near onyx to these eyes. No light cuts through at all. An attractive mocha colored head crowns the top. It stands a shy of a finger in depth, and recedes to a surface covering fairly quickly. Lacing was lighter, but definitely sticky.

The nose is quite good. Dark chocolate and caramel are strong initially. It smells a tad sweet. Bourbon smells absolutely delicious and is a perfect complement to the malt base! The bourbon presence is moderate, despite spending eight months in barrels. It works perfectly! Secondary notes of vanilla and oak smell delicious and add depth and character. Alcohol is noted, but doesn't come through strong. Smells delicious!

The flavor definitely lives up to the nose. An excellent mix of bittersweet dark chocolate and moderately sweet caramel kicks things off. It's quite the malt base. Bourbon has a moderately strong presence. I'm surprised it's not stronger given that it spent 8 months in barrels. Nonetheless, it turned out extremely well. I find that a little too much bourbon can be overbearing for me. Roasted coffee is easily noted here. It blends well with other secondary notes of oak, vanilla, and a hint of coconut. Alcohol is there, but isn't too strong in flavor or very warm. Finishes with a mix of bourbon, dark chocolate, and sweet caramel. Excellent.

Bourbon Barrel Sweet Chocolate Love has a body that's on the very light side of medium. It feels too thin and light. Carbonation is dialed down pretty well, but it feels too thin to attain any real level of smoothness. Very average for the style. Drinkability is quite good on the other hand. This is delicious beer that goes down easy. Each sip invites another. Very nice.

Bourbon Barrel Sweet Chocolate Love is the best Jackie O's beer I've tried to date. No question. I'm really impressed with the flavor. Its only real shortcoming is its body. It needs more. Otherwise, it's very solid all-around. The aging in Woodford Reserve barrels really creates something special here. One sip is all it takes to appreciate that. Seek this one out. Thanks a ton, Chris!