Oak + Age; Vanilla From Tacoma To Vladivostok With Love
Sig Brewing Co.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with virtually no head and only a thin string of bubbles around the edge. Aroma of dark toasted malt, whiskey, vanilla, a touch of cocoa and coffee; a bit boozy. Flavor follows, with dark toasted malt, whiskey, vanilla and dark chocolate; hot with a lot of whiskey in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and satisfactory carbonation despite the near still pour. The brewery noted that this was still hot when brewed (2021) and could use a few years cellaring. Guess I jumped the gun a bit, but this has had a year or so and does still show some alcohol. However, the base malt is full bodied and worthy of a Russian imperial stout. There is lots of whiskey flavor here, more than anticipated from a barrel and more like a decent shot in the glass. The vanilla is very nicely done, a clear vanilla character with a touch of oak, but still well balanced and supported by the malt. Chocolate notes are present, but subsumed into the whiskey. Flavorful and full bodied. Although I have stopped aging stouts for more than a few years, I agree with the brewery that this appears to be worthy of a multi-year aging. Apparently one of their first barreled stouts and it turned out quite nicely.