t Smisje Great Reserva

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Well, never had a dark amber/brown imperial stout before. Not sure of what I'd think of the base. Loved the cognac apple brandy influence even though it was overbearing to the "stout" portion.

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

i like-a tha cognac.. . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Xq_OPgMs0 .. . pretty malty, lots of rum, booze, wood, molding wood aromas .. . medium ruby colour .. . A- lacing ... . medium sweetness, touch of rum/brandy .. i can see the great? just remove your bra, thank you ..

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

A soft, careful pour in to my 25cl tulip glass still sees my glass filling up with four fingers of head and then an additional finger rises above the rim of my glass threatening to over flow. The head is a tan color with a varied, rocky surface. The beer is a dark amber, well brown color that shows a lightly hazed, red color when held up to the light. The aroma is fruity, quite spicy and actually quite nice. I think that a lot of the rich fruitiness is derived from the Cognac barrels; notes of cherry, a touch of strawberry, sweet currant notes and a nice, concentrated raisin note. Pepper like spice, some clove, and some woody allspice as well as a tannic black tea like character add complexity to the nose, which is otherwise quite fruit dominated.

Spicy and well carbonated peppery notes greet my tongue up front. The beer softens a bit as it rolls across the tongue with a touch of cocoa and a dark fruitiness. Brandy soaked raisin flavors, concentrated plum, and some complex fig notes seem to capture the fruit flavors here. There is a touch of chalky, cocoa and toasted caramel character to the finish of this beer. The toasted character also takes on a wood-like note as well as adding some nuttiness to the flavor. I like how light bodied this beer is for a 10% abv beer; there is just enough heft to this beer, but it is far too quaffable to be safe. The nutty flavors really become quite a bit more pronounced as this beer warms up a bit. There is a touch of tartness here as well, it boosts the fruit character a bit and reminds me just a bit of tamarind.

This beer has seriously mellowed compared to the non-barrel aged version, the roast character plays a much lesser role here and the off-flavors of the base beer are not to be found here (thank goodness). This is actually quite tasty and I really like the boosted fruit character that the Cognac barrel added to this beer.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

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

Pours a hazy amber-orange with a very huge initial rocky/pillowy head that sustains itself quite well, provides ringed lacing. The aroma was floral along with light fruits (apples/pears/grapes), faint spices. The flavor followed the aroma, floral, light fruits, candi-sugar, oak/wood, all finishing with a very dry and yeasty mouthfeel to keep things relatively clean. Body was moderate for a Belgian Strong, and I certainly would not have classified this as an Impy Stout.