Brasserie McAuslan St-Ambroise Stout Impériale Russe Special Reserve (2017) – Russian Imperial Stout at 9.2% ABV | 84 IBU (C$5.57 at NLC Howley Estates, 341 ml, packaged on 8-Sep-2017, acquired 8-Nov-2017, reviewed 18-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. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (8/10) 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 second 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 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. This one appears to have improved slightly in both regards, with a smoother warming and a less pronounced astringency. I’m also getting a very slight hint of coconut that I hadn’t previously identified in newer vintages. An improvement, but a subtle one that doesn’t (yet?) justify a change in scoring at three years old. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
