Brasserie McAuslan St-Ambroise Stout Impériale Russe Special Reserve (2012) – Russian Imperial Stout at 9.2% ABV | 84 IBU (C$4.46 at Andrew Hilton Wine & Spirits, 341 ml, packaged on 27-Sep-2012, acquired 15-Jan-2016, reviewed 19-Jun-2020)
Appearance: opaque unrelieved black with one finger of creamy dark beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: toasty malt, boozy dark fruit, chocolate, marshmallow, leather and tobacco, oak, bourbon, vanilla, coconut. (9/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (9/10) Medium-full slightly viscous body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter and warming finish verging on astringent. (4/5)
The Great Cellar Drink Down continues. What? I’m in quarantine in a (supposedly) sold house, so I can’t get anything fresh, and who knows how long my collection will go into a storage unit after we pack up here and find a new house – could be months, easily, subjected to wild temperature variations. No, better it end here, with dignity: cue the swelling orchestra.
The final one in the deepest vertical I’ve ever attempted, and indeed the deepest vertical I’m ever likely to attempt: a nearly-complete run, newest to oldest, of 2018 to 2012 vintages, missing only the 2015. I did a baseline on a brand-new bottle of this a few years ago, and at the time noted definite alcohol heat and slight astringent thinning in the finish, both of which I hoped would mellow with age.
The first in this vertical (the 2018) was nearly two years old, which I felt marked a reasonable start to truly cellared vintages. It exhibited a slightly tempered alcohol presence as compared to the baseline fresh, though still had a slight but definite astringent edge. Through the second (the 2017), third (2016), and fourth (2014), I noted a definite trend in improvement, with smoother warming, reduced astringency, and development of some coconut. The fifth (2013) didn’t represent a clear improvement over the newer 2014, and this one is at the very least not an improvement, and may in fact represent just the very slightest backsliding – particularly in the finish, there’s a little thinness in the body, and it seems like there’s little astringency returning. I’m going to call six or seven years old the sweet spot here, and suggest that eight years old and beyond is probably on the downhill side of diminishing returns. I don’t regret the exercise, but don’t see the point of ageing beyond that point. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
