Schlafly Reserve Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

(July, 2008)Pours deep amber with thin tan head. The aroma is wood and vanilla first then turning alcohol booziness, burnt malts, caramel and more booze. The taste is bourbon booze with hints of wood. It then picks up notes of mild caramelized malty sweetness and vanilla before another boost from the booze takes the experience into the finish. I prefer a bit more of the base beer in the flavor than this product has. The after taste has a nice vanilla note at times.

(Nov. 2007)Courtesy jayg. Pours dark brown and not black with tan head. It has a sweet roasty aroma with some molasses and then burnt malts. The flavor is roasted malts, sweetness, hints of molasses that slowly turns vanilla toward the finish. Nice full flavor. There is just a hint of the ABV.

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

Sampled at the Boise tasting 1/16/10
Appearance: Poured black with a small off white head
Aroma: Bourbon, caramel, vanilla, chocolate
Taste: Dark chocolates, caramel, bourbon
Very smooth beer, not alot of hot alcohols.

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

Received this from a friend visiting from Kansas City. Poured into two snifters at cellar temp and noticed how insanely carbonated this was for a bourbon barrel sout. Deep black with a tan/white head and strong bourbon and vanilla aromas. Thin mouthfeel coupled with high drinkability makes it sort of an enigmatic imperial/bourbon stout. Vanilla and oak dominate the flavor profile but licorice and roasted malts are present as well. This is a nice brew, but not top tier.

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

i think only because i've had so may elite BB stouts, this is ends up not quite elite...but very good nonetheless. big roasty choclatey stout blends with a subtle at first but then more assertive bourbon. maybe too much peppery bourbon competes with the stout to make this just a touch lower than, say, Rasputin 12 or bourbon county, but it is quite good. probably a one timer given it's scarcity and price.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Thanks for sharing this bottle Cliff (SDbruboy). Pours wtih a black body with a reddish hue, topped by a medium thick head with some lacing left behind. It’s slightly sweet and malty with a nice roasty note and a hint of bitter sweet chocolate. Medium to full bodied and warming.

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

I haven't reviewed this yet? I'm slipping! Dark brown pour, tan head, moderate lacing. Nose is roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and oak. In the flavor, the bourbon isn't a bit shy, but well-integrated; roasted malt still dominates, with coffee/chocolate undertones. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, considering; the finish is warm and smooth with an appropriate bourbon bite. There are some fine bourbon barrel aged stouts in this world; this one's in the middle of the road. From a bang-per-buck perspective, though, this is very close to the top of the heap!

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

Thanks eagle. Poured a nice dark black color with chocolate head. Aroma was of chocolate bourbon. The flavor was much the same mile chocolate very nice some wood to it as well. Finished dry good brew

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

Bottle 2007 from theisti, bottle 2008 from SL. The pours were quite similar, nice choco-colored head (esp. for an aged beer, perhaps they re-carbonated this thing?) over a deep black body. The aroma was chocolate and chocolate, some bourbon. The flavor followed with the 2008 showing more roast and cocoa-notes, the 2007 more milk-chocolatey sweet notes. The 2008 also had some more oak/wood notes in there, slight dryness to the finish. Horizontals like this are what make me think that the whole aging thing is over-hyped, rarely "worth it." A good brew, tasty stuff, erring only possibly on the sweet side of things. Mouthfeel full bodied, slightly sticky.

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

Aroma is of light molasses and chocolate syrup and caramel ... Has a medium full head, caramel in colour ... is quite light and mellow for such a boozer .. .taste similar to the aromas, more caramel and chocolate werthers candy .. a nice brew, sweet and mellow... i could polish off a bottle in 15 mins after a funrun ..

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

2008: Pours dark with a thin tan head. Aromas of dark coffee and chocolate as expected, but also a back hint of scotch and vanilla. Overall a bit sweet and syrupy, but perfect for a cold night. Warm finish. NICE. 2008 in 2011: WOW this ages nicely.