8.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

8300th review! 750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled in 1/2018. Bottle #2329/5000. Pours moderately hazy dark ruby red, light copper/brown color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready/light roasted malts, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hops/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, roasted bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, brown bread/crust, molasses, dark fruit, cherry, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/light roasted malts, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hops/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet, and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying, acrid flavors after the finish. Nicely clean on lager flavors, not overly fruity/yeasty. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and lightly sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 11.16%, with zero lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an awesome barrel aged eisbock! All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/light roasted malts, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hops/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish. Awesome balance of clean/rich dark/Munich malt complexity, and bourbon barrel presence/integration; with restrained fruity yeast and balancing earthy noble hops against sweetness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example.