Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
Imperial Stout
14.3% ABV
2012 Vintage - Intelligentsia La Tortuga Coffee Beans
Appearance: Pours an opaque black with a scant finger of reddish-tan foam.
Smell: Oak, vanilla, light coffee, baking chocolate, dark cherry, and raisins.
Taste: Follows the nose but much more robust and complex. Oak, vanilla, bitter, roasted coffee, burnt caramel, earthy, spicy, smoky and salty with some bourbon alcohol notes. The coffee is certainly there but it doesn't hit you over the head with it's presence. I've heard that the fresher you drink this, the stronger the coffee is in both the flavor and aroma.
Mouthfeel: On the heavier side with a spicy and acidic finish, presumably from the coffee beans integrated in the brewing process.
Overall, this was not quite as legendary as I was hoping for. I'd been trying to find a bottle of this (or any Bourbon County stout, really) for quite some time and the hype surrounding it was pretty extensive. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very good barrel-aged stout, but there are many others that I have enjoyed much more. I like that it's complex and quite easy to drink at a whopping 14.3% ABV (the highest of any beer I've ever had) but I didn't care for the acidic/bitter/salty flavors that were very front and center, in my opinion. And while I hate to bring the price of the bottle into a beer review, I feel that at $22 a bottle it certainly warrants mentioning. The point is, I've had much better stouts for half that price and this is one that, while I'm glad I tried it, I won't be purchasing again. I will however try the other variants (Cherry Rye in particular) if and when I come across them.
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| 4 out of 5 |
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