“Indulge yourself with our very latest and best barrel-aged imperial stouts! Four, yes FOUR, to choose from!
– Whisky BA Imperial Stout 11%
– Rum BA Imperial Stout 11%
– Bourbon BA Imperial Stout 11%
– non-BA Imperial Stout 12%”

Glassware: Snifter.

Straight Imperial Stout: Solid black with a finger of brown foam. It steadily reduced and laced well. Nice and meaty with prominent roasted malts, espresso, soft smoky notes, baker’s chocolate, gritty earthy-ness and a flutter of vanilla. Again, a lovely charred malt flavour profile with espresso, dark chocolate and burnt wood. Dense, sticky and full bodied. Low-ish Co2. 11% ABV is evident but pretty well behaved. Decent base to work off. Very keen to try the barrel aged variants now!

Starwood? ( I think they mean Starward ): Looks slightly more menacing that the straight impy Stout; solid black but with a darker shade of brown foam. Similar retention and lacing. Instantly getting the effect of the Starward barrels. They impart a rather deep vinous character alongside the classic Sherry-based sweetness and subtle fiery notes. Flavour offers a mirror image of the aroma but with added Port sweetness and sticky toffee and caramel. Nice plump body with well balanced Co2 and booze (also 11% ABV). Certainly a step up from the straight impy Stout.

Beenleigh Rum: Almost a step up again…black with a dark brown head but with an almost deep reddish tint. Reasonable lace as we go. Not as intense as the Starward expression. There is a subtle sweetness, mostly spice and caramel/toffee, maybe a touch of molasses creeping in. Pretty subtle nuances in flavour too. Not that dissimilar to the impy stout just a little smoother with the spicy and caramel-esque sweetness separating them. Nice full body like the rest, slightly silky texture with mild Co2. Booze about the same too. We’d probably be putting this one last at the moment.

Buffalo Trace: Similar appearance to the Starward expression – solid black with a dark brown head. Steady reduction and reasonable lace. Huge difference here.. the American bourbon characters jump out immediately. We get the classic vanilla, caramel and spice but with unique scents of black ants, brown sugar and kinda spicy rye. So so smooth, laden with vanilla and peppery rye, caramel and toffee, dark fruits and brown sugar. Warming yet super smooth. Full body and mild Co2. This easily sits at the top for us.

Overall: Excellent release from Sauce. Such a great idea and uber fun to review. The pick of the bunch had to be the Buffalo Trace expression then the Starward, the straight impy Stout and then the Beenleigh Rum last. Big ups for this release. Sensational stuff.