2012, '13 and '14 BVDL comparison

@joromiller
He seems to be an expert on this topic.

 

It sounds like YOU need to report back to US after opening those bottles!

 

Never had '12, but I thought '13 was incredible; '14 tasted a bit more like vanilla extract (I know it is not). But ya, joromiller may have more input here.

 

Did not have '12 fresh. I've had it somewhat aged. It was MUCH more bourbon than vanilla. To be frank, it was almost void of vanilla and quite disappointing as a BA vanilla stout.
'13 VBDL was easily the best year for me. I've had it many, many times, to include a bottle solo.
'14 VBDL was heavy vanilla and marshmallow. I think with some age, it will be fabulous. It was incredible, but '13 is still easily my favorite. I've had a couple bottles of '14 since the release, and have a half dozen bottles in my cellar.

I've had all 3 within the past 6 weeks, and '13 with a year plus on it was still my favorite. I actually recently traded a '14 VBDL for a '13 VBDL+.

Hope this helps.

 

I want your life...

 

Damn dude...

 

Anyone have a 12' recently that had dat marshmallow vanilla goodness?

 

12 has been my favorite so far. But I personally find them all better after about a year. 13 especially fresh was just overwhelmingly sweet. Revisited. Couple months ago and found it to be fantastic. 14 fresh is actually pretty decent and should be good drinking for a while. I haven't had 12 in over a year

 

'13 was pure bourbon marshmallows fresh.

'12 was more marshmallow than bourbon at one year of age, which is understandable and almost just as delicious.

'14 with quite a bit more of the sweet base DL character in comparison to the others... still absolutely fuckin' fantastic, but definitely prefer the other two vintages.

 

Other than trading away the farm or having an insider FFF connect, how in the bloody twat do you stumble across that many bottles? I'm sure I will get a vague(or no) answer, but I am curious.

 

In spite of potential backlash to my candid response, here are the honest answers:

1. I know a lot of people in the beer community so I have access to beers that many don't.
2. I am an expert at finding a two-way street with people so that both parties benefit from each other in trading. This is what I do for a living...align agendas with people so it's a win-win scenario.
3. I have a reputation within the beer community. Many people (like @GreesyFizeek) that I've never spoken with, met or traded with, know #1 and #2 are true about me. I have people who regularly contact me on the beer trading sites and ask me if they can trade me their big bottles (like VBDL) unsolicited.
4. I take extremely good care of the people that take care of me. I have helped many of my RTPs get bottles like VBDL with beers from my own cellar. There are too many to mention, but if you're curious as to who they are, I could list a dozen of them off the top of my head.

Other than that, there's not much to this for me.

Cheers!

JR

 

fair enough, thanks for the response. get what you can!

 

I don't trade as much as I want to/used to, but I still peruse the trade forums a lot, and whenever there's a mention of Bourbon Vanilla Dark Lord, @joromiller is almost always there, being generous with information, advice, and beers. Definitely seems like a good guy.

 

I must 100% agree. @joromiller has provided excellent BVDL feedback in what it takes. With his help I have landed one.

 

And for what it's worth, I probably give away more beer than I consume and cellar combined.

 

Sounds about right. JR is pretty much the resident expert on BVDL... and what he says about his methods is quite true. I have experienced it firsthand.

 

do you fish or disc golf? i feel like we should hang out, lol.

seeing this thread reminds me that i should have just asked you about a question i had earlier. i started a thread here...
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/dark-lord-variant-question.193856/

 

I've been known to throw a disc or two.