“Now in its 16th vintage, 2023 Eclipse is our rich Imperial Stout aged to perfection in whiskey and spirit barrels. All Eclipse starts with the same base beer bringing hints of dark chocolate, espresso, and a smooth complexity, with each barrel treatment delivering its own unique character after a minimum of 180 days aging. EC-12 is aged in Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrels [Elijah Craig 12yr].”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Impenetrable black with a finger of brown foam perched on top. Reasonably well retained with lace rings marking each sip as we go.

Aroma: EC-12… interesting name for a distillery. Then we realised it’s just an abbreviation for Elijah Craig (Heaven Hill) – one of our favourite American Bourbon distilleries. The ’12’ obviously denotes its amount of years in barrel. Again, this is a Bourbon we’ve never tried so we’re keen to get stuck in. Gorgeous oak-drenched toffee/caramel, dark fruits, vanilla, Oriental spice i.e cinnamon, clove, nutmeg. The rich Stout base definitely propping up the cocoa in the Bourbon too.

Flavour: As usual the delicious base Stout offers the four-to-the-floor goodness of coffee, chocolate, roasted grains and molasses. And as per usual (for the Eclipse Stout range) the selected Bourbon infuses beautifully with its charred oak, toffee, vanilla and spice. Quite a distinct booze burn though, at times a little astringent as it finishes roasty yet sweet, spicy and oaky. Good length on it too.

Mouthfeel: Similar to all the others in that it’s surprisingly slick and oily with a medium-full body. The 12.9% ABV is discernible as expected.

Overall: We’re not totally blown away by it. Yes it’s a solid BA Imperial Stout but the whole range seems to be lacking the finesse of previous vintages.