North Coast Old Rasputin XIV

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

An aged bottle. It pours a solid black color with a huge creamy head. Lots of dark chocolate and coffee notes in this one, and a fair amount of bourbon. Thick and creamy mouthfeel. Flavor is overrun by the alcohol, but you can still taste notes of coffee and chocolate amongst the bourbon.

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

I had this beer with Thanksgiving dinner (2012). I picked this gem up from Honeygo Wine & Spirits in Perry Hall, Maryland. This beer is PHENOMENAL. Big, dark, full of chocoalte, coffee, and bourbon. This beer had the perfect amount of barrelling. I loved it and would buy it again in a heartbeat. Totally worth the price.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Very generous sample @ #KnoxBeerCrew tasting - thank you ModerHead for this offering! Near black heavy pour, little head, big lacing. Nearly burnt malts, Bourbon, molasses, oaken vanilla, very slight hops in the huge aromas. Flavor is Bourbon-toasted malts-vanilla-oaked-molasses goodness. Hugely rewarding beer. Nice linger. Super as it warms. Glad to try it.

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

Very nice, excellent actually. All qualities as expected for an imp stout, but in this case the barrelled aspect is not nearly as overpowering. Nicely balaned, excellent flavor. Definitely one of the best beers I've had yet.

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

So glad to find old ras barrel aged, it's a perfect imp for the job and this beer does not miss on anything. This is the closest bb imp to goose island that I can remember. Absolutely love it and recommend buying as many of them as you can find.

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

Thick dark brown body with a slight amber tint, frothy tan head and spotty lacing. Good aroma and a smooth full body that beckons to be sipped and not let go. Rich chocolate, wood, vanilla, coffee and dark fruits with a steady bourbon barrel presence. Fairly mild compared to some other top notch BA Stouts, but well blended and put together nonetheless. I don't see the $20 price tag in this bottle at all, so I'm glad it was shared by a friend.

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

I agree!! Can't find a better beer on my ratings than this. Lucky enough to be around when my bro-in-law bought this, so only got to sample 1/3 of the bottle. Woulda got a better idea maybe splitting two ways with a larger sample....but was so good that I am going to treat myself to this when I have some extra loot. After this sample, I also want to get their Barrel Aged Old Stock. Really taste the bourbon here, but not overwhelming so. Flavor richer than the regular Old Rasp, chocolate malt stands out more on the finish. Great balance, as the taste really can't be much better. Might be my first 10 in flavor. Appearance dark black with darker mocha creamy head...again, can't get any better there. Previous #1 is DFH Santo Palo Maron...which I have one that is aged a bit. Going to sample that around the time I get a bottle of this to compare.

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

Holy mother...this is one amazing beer! XII was damn good, though more different than Rasputin than I'd imagine. This one has just as much bourbony vanilla toned goodness, but with the more obvious hop flavor and a tiny bit more roasted malt coming through. Not because the bourbon is less prevelant...it just has more flavor. Just about perfect in balancing the base beer and the barreling. I absolutely LOVE this beer. One of the finest examples of a barreled beer (or any beer) I've ever had!