“Project Brief: Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels with a vanilla bean blend. This three-vanilla bean blend is the grand finale of our Fundamental Coordinates vanilla showcase series. The base liquid is a diligently selected blend of Fundamental Observation 2019 for a little extra-aged complexity and Double Mash Fundamental Observation brews from 2020 for a chewy, silky body. Once our favourite casks were selected, they were aged with a combination of Cook Island, Comoros, and Costa Rican vanilla. Floral aromas (Cook Island) melt into sun-soaked dates and raisin on the mid-palate (Costa Rica), with a nutty, brown butter-chocolate finish (Comoros).”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black with a rapidly vanishing brown head. Minimal lace as we go but you know what, we wouldn’t have a monstrous BA Impy Stout any other way.

Aroma: We don’t claim to be Nostradamus but we can already tell this is going to be an absolute pearler. The sheer complexity and layer upon layer of rich malt, bourbon and decadent sweetness is a dead give away! Really tickles the nostrils too…at 14.5% ABV we can’t be surprised by that. Ridiculous amounts of caramelised dark fruits but it’s just so insanely well balanced by the spicy Bourbon and rich roasty malt. Oooft!

Flavour: Holy hell where do we even begin? Seriously, we’re lost for words right now, this is freakin amazing. It’s like this ominous advancement of Bourbon-infused rich dark malts with molasses, Barleywine-like residual sugars and spicy vanilla protruding off a big black mass. The warming booze comes in and out and then it finishes with a spicy Bourbon sweetness, mildly bitter roast and a good old fashioned sting in the tail.

Mouthfeel: Thick-set, oily kind of viscosity. Low-ish Co2. The 14.5% ABV was quite noticeable throughout.

Overall: This was something else. We don’t say that lightly either. The intensity was off the charts but they just managed to keep a lid on it. Delicious and decadent but bloody dangerous!