Brasserie McAuslan St-Ambroise Stout Impériale Russe Special Reserve (2014) – Russian Imperial Stout at 9.2% ABV | 84 IBU (C$4.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 341 ml, packaged on 17-Sep-2014, acquired 7-Dec-2014, reviewed 19-Jun-2020)
Appearance: opaque unrelieved black with one finger of creamy beige head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) 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. (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 fourth 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) and third (2016) I noted a trend toward slight improvement, smoother warming, reduced astringency, and development of some coconut. We’re now getting into serious cellaring time, at nearly six years old, and the trend of smoothing out continues, with astringency lessened to the point of near non-existence. It’s still best enjoyed as a slow sipper, but is now smooth enough that one could drink it faster, were one so inclined. Overall, it’s slightly better again than the 2016, though not the point of a bump in overall scoring. Given the trend thus far, I strongly suspect the final two will remain at or near this level, but we’ll see. (17/20)
8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
