Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout - Cedar Aged (Humidor Series) - Cigar City Brewing

koopa

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2009 Vintage 750ml bottle with a white sticker on the top neck stating "Marshal Zhukovs Imperial Stout 2009" on it.

Appearance: Black as night with a super dark brown 2 finger crown that shows good retention and some lace.

Smell: Great subtle interplay of dark fruits and roast malt wrapped in a beefy blanket of cedar!

Taste: Same elements as the nose but with less refined integration. The cedar is so abundant it throws the flavor off in my opinion. I get cedar that tastes just like it smells at first, a small leather quality, then some booze, dark fruits, a bit of roast, a nice touch of hop bitterness, and then a fairly tannic finish. It's probably closer to a 4.25 so I'm rounding down a bit.

Mouthfeel: Thick side of medium bodied with ample carbonation that helps wash the lingering flavors of booze and cedar off of the tongue.

Overall: Make sure to let this one warm up to proper serving temperature to really enjoy the flavors. A great wood aged imperial stout for sure. The flavors are great and both the look and the smell are very impressive!

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2012 23:08:38 | More by koopa

Rogorama

Indiana

4.75/5  rDev +13.6%

05-21-2013 13:52:14 | More by Rogorama

mookihouse

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%

05-20-2013 18:29:46 | More by mookihouse

wyatt13

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%

04-28-2013 13:58:25 | More by wyatt13

BillHilly

Washington

3.5/5  rDev -16.3%

03-06-2013 14:32:52 | More by BillHilly

bennetj17

Arizona

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%

03-04-2013 05:32:10 | More by bennetj17

KevinGordon

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -4.3%

03-02-2013 14:39:31 | More by KevinGordon

MordorMongo

Indiana

4/5  rDev -4.3%

01-14-2013 00:02:41 | More by MordorMongo

westcoastbeerlvr

California

2.5/5  rDev -40.2%

01-09-2013 00:09:43 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

Zaphog

Michigan

4/5  rDev -4.3%

12-23-2012 03:37:32 | More by Zaphog

Rhettroactive

Virginia

4/5  rDev -4.3%

12-15-2012 20:07:54 | More by Rhettroactive

Thorpe429

Illinois

2.53/5  rDev -39.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Big thanks to raveskdr for sharing this bottle. Served in a Cigar City snifter. Pours a very dark brown color, bordering on black. The nose carries loads and loads of cedar. Far, far too much. It’s over the top. That’s enough ways to say that. Zhukov is a powerful beer, and it’s barely noticeable underneath the cedar here. The flavor adds in some roast and chocolate, but it’s mostly all cedar. Wow. Medium body with a spicy cedar finish. Not a huge fan. I’d much prefer regular Zhukov.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 20:01:51 | More by Thorpe429

Jeffo

Netherlands

4/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The good Marshal is not mentioned anywhere on this bottle, but once I started drinking the beer, there was no mistake. Cheers to bsuedekum for this bottle, and for going the extra mile in this trade. Cheers!

From a 750 into a snifter
Bottled Sept 2011
Cedar spiralls from Barrel Mill

APPEARANCE: Yes. I could stop here. This is what stouts should look like. Take note Goose Island. A thick, sludgy, vicious motor oil black pour yields a cascading 1+ finger, thick, tight, dark mocha head with great retention. Sludgy black body with medium levels of carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a full wisp cap. A swirly wisp and ring remain leaving dots of lacing down the glass. Thick, vicious, and meanicing. Fantastic.

SMELL: Cedar wood for sure, with vanilla, roasted and charred malts, molasses and cocoa powder on the nose. Burnt espresso works its way through as well. Pretty nice, though the cedar does run the show a little.

TASTE: Follows the nose to a tee. Cedar wood, vanilla notes, then lots of roasted, burnt and charred malts at the swallow. Roasted and burt malts accompany burnt, bitter espresso, pure, bitter dark chocolate and more sweet cedar flavors in the bold and lingering finish. Sweet molasses from the base beer as well. Very flavorful and dominating, with plenty of cedar taking the lead here.

PALATE: Medium body and medium levels of carbonation. Creamy on the palate, goes down smooth and finishes mouth-coating. No bite. Cedar aging has lightened up the body some, as it's not as thick and full as it usually is. Still a tick above average though.

OVERALL: This was really, really good. The base Marshal Zhukov is an outsanding imperial stout, and the cedar againg has added a new dimension to the beer. That said, while I can easily finish a bottle of the base beer myself, the cedar aging added a sweetness that makes a willing buddy an almost necessity, as this does get a little chalenging as the bottle empties. Still, a great beer from a great brewery. Thanks guys, and cheers again bsuedekum!

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2012 15:46:14 | More by Jeffo

beergorrilla

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -16.3%

12-10-2012 12:27:30 | More by beergorrilla

sveil

Florida

5/5  rDev +19.6%

11-15-2012 00:54:52 | More by sveil

Ryan011235

Ohio

2.45/5  rDev -41.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a Delirium snifter on 9/16/12

Shared by PDXHops

Sept 2011 printed on the label

This is quite the dark beer; the deep, scorched brown looks nearly black in the glass. The head is a rather dark brown and hits the one finger mark before skimming out. Small spots of lace build with each sip and slide back down the glass.

Dark sugars dominate the aroma; dense notes of molasses, chocolate and prune. Dark berry overtones. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of roast. The cedar isn't particularly distinct here; it just adds a small amount of wood in the few places not filled with sugars.

Thankfully, roast plays a more prominent role for the palate; even better are ashy hints toward the finish. Chocolate, molasses, tangy roast and undertones of coffee beans. The cedar is subtle here, too, and that's probably a good thing. The wood adds a snappy, earthy layer that might be overdone were it stronger. Sweet, but not terribly so. The finish has residual roast and sugars.

The feel is so viscous and dense, it might as well be termed sludge. Then again, it's too smooth to be sludgy, I reckon. Carbonation is on the low side of average; in comparison to the body, it's at a comfortable level for me right off the rip. No need to swirl here. The 11% abv is concealed well.

I had my reservations on account of some of the Cigar City sugar bombs I've had before, but this one panned out pretty well. The sweetness becomes more pronounced with warmth, and eventually, the beer becomes a bit tiring. It's not a terrible beer, though.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2012 06:25:49 | More by Ryan011235

FullObs

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%

10-28-2012 17:21:50 | More by FullObs

sendbeer

Georgia

5/5  rDev +19.6%

10-27-2012 15:49:02 | More by sendbeer

sind310

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%

10-23-2012 09:20:22 | More by sind310

jaminjohnson

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -10.3%

09-30-2012 21:14:40 | More by jaminjohnson

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -4.3%

09-15-2012 21:46:03 | More by t0rin0

BdubleEdubleRUN

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%

08-30-2012 23:48:04 | More by BdubleEdubleRUN

Savearth

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -16.3%

08-29-2012 23:21:54 | More by Savearth

ehammond1

California

2.33/5  rDev -44.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Bottle

Acquired via trade
Thanks, Beerness!

Black and thick body with a moderately sized dark brown head. As usual, Cigar City makes another beautiful stout. Shiny, black, thick, heavy, viscous, oily--all words I'd use to describe this stout. Unfortunately, it's appearance was probably my favorite aspect of the beer.

Big notes of wood and smoke, as expected, and the base beer is largely lost because of it. There's also fairly large amounts of vegetable/tomato ketchup aroma, which isn't particularly pleasant. There's some strange sweetness and a bit of soy as well.

The flavor is just as bad, if not worse, than the aroma. Big notes of gourd vegetables, tomatoes, ketchup, wood, soy, and sweetness. A favorite beer of mine has been transformed into something not particularly drinkable.

Thick bodied with low-moderate carbonation. This beer does not fail the mouthfeel test.

I have largely hated the Humidor Series from Cigar City. This one is no exception.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2012 18:30:39 | More by ehammond1

bsuedekum

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev -10.3%

07-28-2012 05:31:42 | More by bsuedekum