Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Lord (Pappy Van Winkle) - Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub

Arbitrator

California

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

01-24-2013 05:27:07 | More by Arbitrator

Jeffo

Netherlands

4.6/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to a few people we were able to put together the entire vertical and almost all the BA variants. Lots of fun gents! A big shout out to jbeatty for sending me this many moons ago.

From a 750 into a snifter
2011 vintage
Bottle 261 of 484

APPEARANCE: Just like all the rest of them. Pours relatively clear for an imperial stout. Produces a small, one finger medium-looking head that quickly fades to a wisp and ring. Black body in the glass with some carbonation evident. Only a ring remains until the end and leaves no real lacing down the glass. A little too light a pour and an average head at best.

SMELL: Pretty nice. Bourbon for sure, with vanilla, oak, caramel, sweet cream and some nice coconut on the nose. Nice chocolate notes as well in the back. Slightly milder than the bourbon version, but the light, dark chocolate notes mesh well with the rest of the PvW barrel. Pretty nice actually.

TASTE: Excellent for sure. Bourbon, vanilla, oak and some dark baker's chocolate at the swallow as well. Bold and boozy finish of bourbon barrel, coconut, sweet molasses and caramel from the base beer, as well as a touch of bitter dark chocolate for good measure. A little more boozy than the bourbon version, but the added complexity with the baker's chocolate and coconut notes make it pretty decadent. Bold and very enjoyable.

PALATE: Slightly lighter than the base beer, but still big enough. Just like the other DL variants as well. Medium body with medium levels of carbonation. Creamy enough, goes down fine and finishes rather sticky on the palate. A bit of a burn and some heat lingers.

OVERALL: By far the best BA variant, with the regular bourbon and cognac versions rounding out the top three. This is the only one I went back to for a second round. The barrel here works really well here, surpressing the soy and dominating sweetness of Dark Lord and bringing in an array of interesting and enoyable flavors into the mix. This is evidence that while the base beer is questionable at best, it is big and sturdy enough to barrel age with grace when the right barrels are used. The regular bourbon and cognac versions are more evidence of this. Loved this and could easily drink a bottle on my own. Cheers again jbeatty!

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 12:38:38 | More by Jeffo

cadaugherty

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

05-14-2013 18:50:21 | More by cadaugherty

Hopbully

Virginia

5/5  rDev +7.5%

05-06-2013 07:32:44 | More by Hopbully

pmoney

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

04-08-2013 14:10:10 | More by pmoney

MinorThreat

Colorado

5/5  rDev +7.5%

03-31-2013 04:27:02 | More by MinorThreat

Fetching

Indiana

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

03-26-2013 07:12:52 | More by Fetching

POTABLE83

New York

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

03-25-2013 16:58:17 | More by POTABLE83

kawilliams81

Illinois

4.56/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 750 ml bottle into a Half Acre snifter.

A- Pours black with very little head. Small tan ring of lacing around the glass.

S- Sweet chocolate, oak, vanilla and bourbon

T- Sweet chocolate, vanilla, nice bourbon flavors with some oak woodiness.

M- Full body and low carbonation. Nice slick, creamy and smooth feel.

O- Nice bourbon notes with some vanilla mixed in. Right there with the Brandy Vanilla for me.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 20:40:49 | More by kawilliams81

jeonseh

Indiana

4.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Bottle as part of NWI tasting group 2011 DL night

A - Dark chocolate brown with a golden overtone around the edges. Not much of a head as it only leaves small bubbles on the sides. As the beer swirls in my glass, I can tell it's going to be a thick one as it leaves lots of residue on the sides

S - This has a great Pappy and bourbon nose with vanilla, sweet wheated bourbon, and the typical PVW butterscotch aspects

T - Vanilla, caramel, butterscotch are up front. As the beer goes, on there is a sweet milk chocolate that comes through as well. The finish is light oak and cinnamon. The flavors meld together well and make this one really delicious beer

MF - Smooth, thick and creamy mouthfeel with a slight stickiness to it. That slight sticky sweetness is what remains in the finish. The best way to describe this while drinking it is velvety

O - This is an amazing beer and worth the bottles we had to trade to try it. It is a sweet beer that really allows the PVW aspects to shine through. I was also amazed at how much it did shine through compare to the bourbon DL's that I've had before.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2013 21:29:04 | More by jeonseh

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev -8.6%

03-03-2013 00:28:21 | More by t0rin0

MarkFy

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

03-01-2013 19:47:35 | More by MarkFy

unclejazz

New York

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

02-26-2013 02:14:00 | More by unclejazz

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.53/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Huge thanks to kawilliams81 for the bottle share! Thanks kent!

bottle number 076 of 484.

Poured into a snifter and drinking this side by side with Rare BCBS!

Reviewed from notes taken on 2/23/2013.

Appearance: black bodied beer with a cap of brown head. Drops to a thin ring of brown head. Its a glass staining neer just like the brandy vanilla BA DL that we just drank.

Smell: This beer honestly smells exactly like BCBS Rare, but it has more wood notes. Some noticable smokiness too.

Taste: Dark chocolates and cocoa. Mellow bourbon, vanilla, oaky, tobacco. Hint of coconut. Lingering oaky finish. A touch of oxidation.

Mouthfeel: full bodied beer with low carbonation. Super smooth big beer. Thick and chewy. Well hidden ABV.

Overall: This beer is just as good as Brandy Vanilla Dark Lord and identical to BCBS Rare. The only thing that is differenct between Rare and PvW BA DL is that Rare has a much more noticable coconut profile in the taste. What an awesome night to be able to try this beer out!

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 01:52:40 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

egrace84

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

02-25-2013 03:08:49 | More by egrace84

Hessian257

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +7.5%

02-24-2013 05:31:32 | More by Hessian257

Duff27

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

No head present. Stainy alcohol legs. Dark brown body, lighter hues around the edges.

Boner inducing aroma. Pappy smell we've grown(?) to love.

Roasty chocolate bourbon booze, unmuddled though. Matches it's abv as a boozy presence.

Thick chewy mouthfeel, fun! Low but adequate carbonation.

Very good BA stout, top tier. Drinking side by side with Rare and I don't see a big difference...so whatever that means. Thanks for the share kawilliams81!

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 01:18:38 | More by Duff27

Azrael

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

02-12-2013 05:06:44 | More by Azrael

jbuddle

New York

4.5/5  rDev -3.2%

01-29-2013 17:57:28 | More by jbuddle

MordorMongo

Indiana

4.75/5  rDev +2.2%

01-13-2013 20:15:12 | More by MordorMongo

AleWatcher

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -8.6%

01-13-2013 02:05:22 | More by AleWatcher

readbaron

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -8.6%

12-12-2012 22:08:39 | More by readbaron

GrumpyOldTroll

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +7.5%

11-29-2012 03:27:15 | More by GrumpyOldTroll

Dennoman

Belgium

4.03/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Incredibly generous share by Matt at Borefts Beer Festival. Was lucky enough to have the last sip in the bottle. A happy scavenger thanks you for the scraps, Matt and Thijs! Bottle 175/484, still proudly sitting on my mantlepiece now. Poured into a De Molen tasting chalice.

A: Appears slightly darker than regular Dark Lord 2011. Still, more reminiscent of a strong porter. Thick, syrupy, dark ruby red fading into black with no legs and no head.

S: Beautiful soft bourbon, dark sugar, vanilla and butterscotch smack you around the head. The booze is nowhere to be found, smells well-balanced but almost clawingly sweet.

T: Not nearly as sweet as regular Dark Lord, so that's a big tick. More balance thanks to the bourbon and oakyness.

M: Imagine drinking maple syrup with the slightest of carbonation. That would be close to this.

O: Shows great improvement over regular Dark Lord 2011, which I hated because it was so clawingly sweet. The oakiness and bourbon from the barrel cut through the syrupy base brew beautifully, but don't go thinking this beer is anywhere near balanced as a stout. The other flavors do seem to come through a little bit more thanks to the barrel aging process, which does wonders to some beers and Dark Lord is one of them. Great stuff.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 16:12:44 | More by Dennoman

Brabander

Netherlands

4.8/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is one of the beers you should try to drink. I had the opportunity to drink this one @ the Borefts beerfestival 2012 in Bodegraven, the Netherlands. My all time American beerbuddy Matt Rooney who lives in Antwerps saved this bottle quit some time for me so that we could drink it at special moment, Borefts was the place to be.

I was at the friday sessions when (later in the evening) Matt came to my table with this bottle. Served in the De Molen tasting glass this beer had some problems to present itself. The fluid was a bit too cold so we had to warm it up for a while. After the fluid warmed up the smell got extremely good. Rich in the nose with the bourbon complexity. Boozy and warm. Boy this was one hell of a treat! Thanks again Matt for making this possible! At the table where i sat were some Spanish beerlovers who got a small pour out of this bottle. I dont think they will ever get a more epic beer than this one...

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2012 09:24:44 | More by Brabander