Cigar City 110K+OT Batch #2 I.R.I.S. - Barrel Aged
Barrel Aged 110K+OT Batch #2: An Imperial Stout dry hopped with Mt. Rainier hops and lightly aged on toasted Spanish Cedar then further matured in former bourbon oak barrels. 11.5% ABV
4.1
155 reviews
Tampa, United States
Community reviews
Huge bottle that Ryan traded me Friday night before Hunnhupu day. He gave it to me cold, so why not open and try it with my parents, fiances parents, and Preismj that night. Poured a dark black color, with little carbonation, aromas of all bourboun, not just bourboun, but overpowering hot bourbon. However the hotness does not transfer to the flavor, and blends nicely. Flavors of toffee, caramel, coffee, chocolate, touch of hops, and some bourbon. Amazing beer overall, I am extremely glad i got to drink this one at home. If you have a bottle, let me know, I need more!
Bottle with friends. Dark black appearance with a dark brown head. Roasty, dark malty, dark chocolate, dark caramel, a touch smoky aroma. Rich toffee, whiskey, dark caramel, roasty chocolate flavor.
Reviewed Back in 2010 - Barrel Aged 110K + OT Batch 2 pours a pitch black color. No way any light is getting through this. It’s thick and oily. A nice two finger mocha head forms and has great retention. Really makes you want to dive right into this baby. As soon as I poured this sucker I could smell the effects of the bourbon. The bourbon mixed with vanilla, chocolate, and mild coffee makes for a very sweet aroma that stings the nostrils. This brew actually reminded me a tad bit of the smell I got from Black Tuesday. Not as big, maybe it’s little brother. Did I mention the bourbon was really nice?
Now by the looks of it so far I would give this beer an easy A+ but something in the taste turned me off just a tad. Everything that is present in the aroma is also in the taste and it’s very good. But in the middle sits a huge dose of bitter hops. Now I love hops. Hell I’m a damn hophead and a lot of the times I love a nice big healthy dose of hops in a stout but this was very bitter. The bitterness sticks to the tongue and stays there throughout the whole experience. Up front though is the bourbon, vanilla, caramel, licorice, and chocolate. Very nice, then comes the bitterness that just lingers. In the end though I did pick up a earthy burnt malt flavor. It saves from some of the bitterness.
The mouthfeel on this one is excellent. Nice and thick. Heavy and silky. Coats the mouth nicely. While this sits at 11.5% ABV it still remains highly drinkable and a pleasure to drink. I just couldn’t get the bitterness out of my mouth for the hours that followed =)
bottle thanks to Chris... great looking beer, dark black with an equally dark tan head, lots of head, lasting, great color... tastes great but I don’t get much of the ba, fine to drink, recommend
Sampled @ DLD 11 (thanks to either the Columbus crew or the Chicago crew). Pours black with a small tan head. The aroma is dark malts, chocolate, ash, bourbon oak with hints of smoke. The flavor is very much the same with dark roasted malts, chocolate, ash, bourbon, oak and a faint hint of hops. The bourbon is not overpowering with this. Great mouth feel, which many of the Cigar City stouts have. I appreciate the taste.
Bottle shared with some buddies. Extremely dark and thick with a brown head. Aroma is just insane. Hints of oak chips, bourbon, chocolate, smoke, slight charcoal. Flavor is heavy on the bourbon side but this one really held up well over the years. Glad I got to land this whale and share it with friends.
Dark pour with a small dense head with nice retention. Thins out a bit as i drink it but starts with nice legs. Aroma has some dank hops, pine, bitter roasted malts, wood, char and bourbon, along with some bittersweet chocolate. Flavor has much the same, pretty complex, a punch of hops which was almost confusing to my palate at first when mixed with the bourbon. Very complex, a bit hot and finished a touch bitter.
From notes. May 2010 Tasting, bottle thanks to Armin. Pour is dark black, with a small brown head, decent lacing. Heavy, almost harsh aroma, with mollases, chocolate, and some burnt notes. Light alcohol, and some port like character as well. Taste is also much the same, but with everything overdone to harsh levels. Bitterness, sweetness, some fruit, all present, and way overdone. Starts with burnt sugar, moves to fruit, bitter alcohol finish. Aftertaste is the best part of this one.
Bottle @ Odense tasting. Thanks Stobbe74. Black body with a small dark brown head. Aroma is oak, chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, vanilla notes, light bourbon. Flavor is chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, vanilla alcohol. Great.
Bottle, 245/449. Pours a pitch black beer with a chocolate head. The aroma is malt, sweetness, roasted, licorice and vanilla. The flavor follows the nose. The palate is soft with sweetness. Overall a really good beer with complexity and balance.
Bottle courtesy of the Cheeseman. Never have I seen such a thick pour. At the tasting a few of us were calling it the gravity defying beer as it coated the glass, with a couple of drops even clinging to the top so hard that they just wouldn’t fall into the brew. Didn’t know until later that this was the barrel aged version although the aroma was a giveaway as my notes indicate aroma of charred oak, bourbon, and soy sauce. Flavor is chocolate, a lot of oak, some steak seasoning/ smoke. Finishes full and sweet.
Bottle 245. Pours black with a brown head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, liquorish, coffee, oak, soy and vanilla. Flavour is roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, alcohol, oak, vanilla, soy and light coffee.
black with a small light brown head. Aroma of licorice, chocolate, with a fruity touch and an ink-like note. Sweet licorice and roast malt flavour with a bit of alcohol showing
Sampled at DLD11. Thanks to BBB63 for this sample. Oily black with a thin swirled beige head. Aged papery aroma. Musty and chocolatey. So much chocolate malt and aged malts. 7/4/7/4/15
Bottle shared by duffmansw. Dark black pour with thin dark brown head. Aroma is dark roasted coffee, brownies and cedar lined drawers. Taste is super roasty, mild oak and hints of bourbon. Weird initial taste but nice roasty finish.
A: The beer looks much the same as the regular version, black and dense, with a brownish head to go with it.
S: Certainly smells like a barrel aged beer. Big whiskey, vanilla, and oak. Some booze to it, but it’s fine with me. Not quite as roasty as the regular version with a bigger emphasis on the sweetness and chocolate notes.
T: Sweet vanilla, oak, and whiskey along with some toffee and chocolate. Hints of roasted malt and coffee come through, but they’re drowned out by the barrel. A touch boozier on the tongue than the nose.
M: The body is sort of thin on this beer, unfortunately. Medium carbonation.
O: The flavors here were solid, other than a bit too heavy on the booze, but the mouthfeel was a real let down.
Bottle @ Odense Tasting, May 2011. Thanks to Stobbe74. Pours black with a creamy brown head and lacings. Nose and flavors are of roast, dark, fruit, bourbon and a bit of soy. Really lovely. Long end . .
Bottle in trade: Pours a jet black hue with a lovely tan frothy head and good lacework upon the glassware. The aroma has notes of cedar and oak, vanilla and chocolate, some booze and phenols, some oxidation (but actually works here), raisins, black cherry, anise, pepper, and leathery earthy esters. Did not much of the dry hopping on the nose.
The taste has a mild dark fruit twang, moderate bourbon barrel tone and a some coffee-ish bitterness. A lot of charred and smoked character from the barrels and black malts. A hint of molasses and slight anise spice finish. As it warmed a touch of "lactic sourness" did appear but did not hinder my enjoyment and actually added some depth of palate. The mouth feel is smooth and moderately carbonated, ashy and tannic but too much. The overall alcohol character seems toned down versus my memories of the non-BA version. I liked this quite a bit but I would not set on these bottle any longer if you have one, may have already started to slide down a wee bit.
aroma is oak booze chocolate. appearance was black with dark tan head. taste of coffee and molasses . an amazing beer
Chocolate, raisins, oak. Bourbon. Caramel and molasses. Just an amazing beer
Reviewed from notes. Thanks to bmanning for this bottle.
Pours black with a mocha head that recedes fairly quickly, leaving behind some pretty good legs. The nose is bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and some roasted malt. Hints of dark fruits. The taste is similar with some strong notes of bourbon along with some oak and chocolate. The feel is pretty strong and a bit boozy. Drinks well and was one of my first beers from them; quite a first impression.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 11-08-2010
Bottle #63/449 shared by MrPickles - Pours black with a decent-sized tan head. Pretty hot with nice roast on the nose, but the alcohol is too much. Really distracts from any other flavors that might be in there. The taste is another story--way smooth, oscillating between roasty and sweet. There toffee, chocolate, espresso, and a touch of milk. Thick and chewy, this one doesn’t have a lot of carbonation. Decent beer, but doesn’t smell anywhere near as good as it tastes.
Thanks to cmillward as well. For the bottle and the compass support through SF at night!
Appearance: Pours a viscous brown with a faint swirls of tan. Other than that, no signs of head, even after swishing it around.
Aroma: Chocolate, whiskey, dark fruit and black licorice.
Taste: Burnt roast, dark chocolate, ashes with a beautiful cherry twang finish. I’m surprised to report the strong bourbon aroma did not carry through to the flavor.
Mouthfeel: Thick with low carbonation. Not goopy, but very thick.
Overall: A tasty, bold yet very balanced Imperial Stout.
Thanks to cmillward. Bottle. This was an excellent barrel-aged stout. Lots of chocolate with some coffee and roast flavor. Dark brown sugar, caramel malt. Some good dark malt fruitiness has come out. There’s an aged leathery, sherry-ish note in there. Fairly sweet but it finishes with a dry woodiness and aged molasses flavor. Bourbon makes an appearance with mild oaky vanilla sweetness, but it’s much more of a background player than expected. Feel is smooth, fairly low carbonation. Appearance was a brown-ruby black with a small tan head. Great stuff.
’09 notes
draft @ CCB release party. pours a deep dark of the abyss with a gooey oil like dark mahogany head. It pours thick, oily, dark golden stains lacing and glass. aroma of cedar wood with warming chocolate malts and hints of the bourbon. taste, thick chocolate palate with spicy elements of cedar wood and warmth of the bourbon contact tough not overpowering. Light floral hops and dry hopping adding for an amazing mouthfeel with the cedar. The blend of cedar and bourbon is just perfect and balanced.
185/449 opened on my new years beer bash. Pours viscous pitch black with medium coco colored head. Beer coats the glass and is insanely dark. Aroma is bursting with tons of coffee and chocolate with subtle woody earthy tones and a very nice sweetness from the barrels. Taste is very in your face but dangerously easy drinker. Starts out with palate coating chocolate and deep coffee. as the middle of the body comes through sweet chocolate and oak/woody with a moderate amount of bourbon. Finishes with more coffee and slight bitter bite leading into a dark malty sweetness. fantastic
Bottle #129/449, shared by badnewsbeers. Deep opaque brown-black body, thin-medium clumping ochre head. Nose very similar to the non-BA version, with potent cocoa and coffee, wood, musty notes, and alcohol. Strong body with dense burnt brown sugars, cocoa, coffee, musty cedar, and oak, very similar to the non-BA version but more tannic. Very good.
Forget the moon and the stars and the sun, because night has moved in with no intentions of ever leaving. A thin burnt crema head is all that remains of light’s demise and judging by the silly grin on my face, definitely not a bad thing. Tenderly swirling her oily depths, more tears than lace are left behind, though a storm cloud of burnt crema burbles on the surface. Is that a storm brewing? Why no, tis an organized raucous of chocolate, wood, bourbon, caramel, licorice, cigar and tobacco leaf, cherries, cacao nibs, fudge and brownies. Take all the above, toss in a fiery pit of smoky burnt goodness, leave, and then return when cool and enjoy. That is her nose in a nutshell and I’m already in beervana without a single drop having touched these lips…yet. I’m taken aback by how clean and teasingly mild our first embrace is, and then all hell breaks loose. Ohmygawd! Chocolate bars dark, brittle, crunchy, and slightly singed. Toasted marshmallows mingle alongside smoking caramel nuggets while tobacco leaf curls and furls in the lapping flames and sweet ashy smoke. Forget the oasis and head straight for the oil pits filled with bourbon barrel aged India Russian Imperial Stout goodness instead. Hop spice tickles the back and my breath along with wood and tobacco treats. Nummers! Definitely a brew best enjoyed without ever having seen the fridge. Slightly chilled doesn’t even apply. From cellar to glass to lips to heaven. That was the righteous procession I followed and with toes well curled, the pen rests and slow simple savoring ensues.
Seriously, I don’t need to say anymore, and so I won’t.
Barrel Aged 110K+OT Batch #2: An Imperial Stout dry hopped with Mt. Rainier hops and lightly aged on toasted Spanish Cedar then further matured in former bourbon oak barrels. 11.5% ABV
129/449. Bottle. Black pour with brown head. Aroma same as the regular version. No barrel aging noticed. Still nice. Barrel aging comes out in the flavor tho. Big bourbon/oak with chocolalte, grass, coffee beans and charred toast. Hint of vanilla.