FiftyFifty 2008 Imperial Eclipse Stout - Pappy Van Winkle

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

based on how amazing this year's grand cru and elijah craig 18 are, and how much i like pappy, i think this has faded over the last three years. that said, still pretty damn good. aroma heavy on chocolate, coffee, and bourbon. flavor has a bit of dark fruit and vanilla in there as well. juuuust a bid muddled, comparatively, to the best of the 2011 batch. wish i'd have had this is 2009, but whatdya gonna do?

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Tasted at the May 2009 Northern California Beer Tasting. This Imperial Stout pours a deep black color from a 22oz bottle. Small sized tan foamy head. The aroma is chocolate, coffee, a hint of vanilla and some oak. A full bodied stout. The malts are chocolate and coffee, touch of dark fruit, a hint of vanilla and a nice warm bourbon flavor. The hops are earthy. Far in away this was the best beer of the night. A very smooth, rich and clean tasting beer. Nice mix of chocolate, coffee and the bourbon barrel flavors. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.