Cigar City Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale - Bourbon Barrel
3.9
163 reviews
Tampa, United States
Community reviews
Good brown. But the bourbon notes completely overpower everything else. It’s not super balanced. Definitely enjoyable... just not the most amazing thing I’ve ever had.
Bottle 76/221 2009. Right away the aroma has wood and bourbon and lost a bit of the nuts and roast. Flavor surprisingly thinned out a bit compared to the regular version. Lots of whiskey on the flavor, overly woody with toast and char.
Bottle #69, with an upside down label. Huge thanks to Destructo for sharing this gem. Dark brown pour with a tan head. Really sweet caramel nose. Sweet and boozy with mellow roasted malt, and hazelnut notes.
Bottle # 5 shared by alexsdad06. Poured dark brown color with an average frothy brown head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy complex hop, toasted malt and dark bourbon aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy bourbon bittersweet flavor with a medium to heavy bittersweet finish of moderate to long duration. This is a standout beer.
Bottle #74/175. Shared with Countbeer and Joes. Deep dark brown color, brown head. Smell wood, bourbon, chocolate. Taste vanilla, wood, chocolate and caramel. Slightly sticky texture. Full body, nice carbo.
Bottle 176/221? from 2009. Hazy brown color/ tan head. Big vanilla, bourbon barrel, roasty, light chocolate aromas. Medium body with soft co2. Vanilla, bourbon, boozy flavors with some light chocolate--this one was all about the barrel--
Pours a dark brown cor with dark mahogany edges and half finger off white head that slowly fades into a thin ring. Minimal lacing.
Sweet bourbon aroma with subtle earthy oak, dark malt and hints of burnt toast, oatmeal and bitter dark chocolate. The barrel character is present but not overpowering, letting the other notes come through.
Medium bodied with a prominent barrel presence but the bourbon is well integrated wihout overshadowing everything. Sweet booze/bourbon, toasted oak and faint vanilla countered by a deep roasted malt backbone. Hints of dark chocolate, oatmeal, toast and coffee bean. Subtle heat toward the finish. Very roasty and kind of acrid but the bourbon sweetness balances things out.
Liquid chocolate. Tastes like stout.
(Bottle generously shared at the RBSG grand tasting.)
Big Thanks to Dosbeerigos for sharing this gem of a beer. I expected this one to be infected, as I had read many reviews that it was, but surprisingly is wasn’t. Light brown color with a good amount of carbonation for a aged beer such as this. Aroma was boozy with hints of oaky and bourbon. Flavor was a tad boozy but had good malty/roasted nut qualities as well. I was hoping it was sour/infected, but it was still a great beer and a treat.
Bottle #87/175 from the December 2009 batch shared by Alex...Nice lacing here...Aroms is good with lots going on, a lot of typilca nut brown aromas but enhanbed by oak and a little bourbon...The taste is right on the aroma, nuts, oak, and bourbon, nice a combination that really works well.
Bottle: #74/175: 2009:
Brown head, disappears quick.
Deep dark brown colored beer.
Smell wood, cocos, liquorice, vanilla, spices, dark fruits and a hint of chocolate.
Taste vanilla, liquorice, wood, chocolate, caramel, toffee, hops, bitter, brown sugars.
Aftertaste of bitter, malts, toffee, caramel, wood and chocolate.
Soft mouthfeel, low carbo and a full body.
Soft smooth and lovely balanced beer!
2009 bottle 145 of 229 shared at the 5,000 tasting. Poured a mudy/murky brown with a small light beige foamy head. Aroma of bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, grains, booze, and artificial flavored syrup. The flavor is similar to the aroma with far less booze but the bourbon, vanilla, chocoalte, grains, toast come across nicely. Softer body and carbonation without much alcohol heat at all for a 9%er. Overall nice but CCB needs to know that not everything needs to be barrel aged, save that for the "special" beers so you can make MORE of them......hello Hunapus or however the hell it’s spelled.
Bottle shared at Paul and Ryan’s 5000th rate tasting. Pours amber brown with an off white head. Sweet malty aroma with light roasty notes and bourbon sweetness. The flavor has lightly roasted malts, sweet bourbon, and sweet malty notes. Nice.
Bottle. Pours dark brown. Nose and taste of bourbon, raisin, toffee and malt. Medium body. Good balance.
Sweet coconut and chocolate nose. Taste is very sweet, lots of toffee and chocolate, lots of bourbon.
Bottled @ UDRM. The aroma has strong bourbon and caramel malts, wood notes. Dark brown-red coloured beer with an off-white, thin head. The taste is sweet, has bourbon booze, caramel maltiness, some raisin, wood and vanilla.The body might be a bit thin due to barrel ageing. Nice one.
Bottle traded from pittsburghkid & shared at Derek’s going away tasting.
Pours a shaded black with a nice frothy head. Smells of bourbon and some oak. The taste is bourbon barrel soaked grain and lots of nuttiness. There’s a bit of coffee and it finishes sweet with minimal burn from the bourbon. Felt like there was a bit of clashing with the barrel aging here, but I tend to be picky about that.
’09 notes
bottle #185, shared in good company with friends in AL. pours brown with a nice mahogany head and thick rich golden lacing. aroma is boozy, malty with the bourbon coming nicely in the nose. taste, malty, plenty of barrel goodness. ABV quickly kicks in followed by chocolate, malts. Maker’s barrel add a very nice touch and are noticeable but don’t become overly present. Worth every drop of it.
Pours cloudy brown with a thin tan head. The nose is bourbon, vanilla, roasted nuts. The taste is pretty much the same. Good brew.
750 ml bottle from Matlzilla- thanks again, Diego. Dated 12/28/2009, 2:35 PM. Of course I didn’t take down the number before I recycled it, but no matter. Tried back-to-back with a seemingly infected bottle of the regular Bolita. This was a huge improvement. Pours a muddy brown color with a nice little beige head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, oak, tobacco, toast, brown sugar, nuts, earth, and roasted chocolate and caramel malts. The flavor basically followed suit, with nice balance of barrel notes, sweetness, and roast. Medium-bodied, with a roasty, boozy, toasty mouthfeel and medium-to-high carbonation. Great BA brown ale.
Bottle shared with Mikkel. Numbered by hand 2/221 and sealed with black wax. A good looking bottle. The aroma is thick with a massive bourbon touch, alcohol, caramels, something that reminds me of Grand maniers, orange peel and a balanced touch of alcohol. Very complex and very balanced. The taste is at first pretty anonymous but grows slowly as the bourbon-vanilla makes its point. Notes of hazelnuts, plumps and caramel backs the vanilla and makes the whole impression pretty dilicious. Its creamy and heavy like most CCs usually are. The good think about this bourbon beer is that the bourbon-aging is balanced and adds to the picture instead of taking it over. The finish is sweet but still with a bitter touch. I really like this CC and so far one of the best I have had from there. Very nice
Bottled @ Dutch "the Good, the Bad & the Ugly" tasting. So glad we had the bad and the ugly, now it’s time for the Good! Hazy brown color, short head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, malty. Good bourbon taste, sweetish and malty. Great balanced bourbon.
Unofficial Dutch RB Meeting. Thnx pantanap. Dark brown colored brew. Aroma has a lot of bourbon, chocolate, wood, vanilla and nuts. Flavor has chocolate, toffee, wood, some coffee, molasses, raisins and a nice balance between the sweetness and the bourbon. Very enjoyable! Bottle 181/221.
Bottle @ meeting. Aroma is huge plum, raisin, caramel, roasted malt, chocolate, wood, bourbon, bourbon, bourbon and vanilla.
Flavour is bourbon, vanilla, wood, fruit, molasses, quite sweet, subtle bitterness, light alcohol note.
75cl Bottle at The Good, The Bad & The Ugly tasting. Deep dark brown colour, beige head. Aroma is sweet, vanilla, bourbon, toffee, fruity, alcohol, chocolate. Flavour is sweet, vanilla, oak, caramel, chocolate, bitter hoppy and malty finish. Medium to fullbodied. Nice.
Bottle generously shared by StFun, I really wanted to try this one, but I was very disappointed. I have not had the regular Bolita Brown before, but nothing seemed to work together on this one. All the flavors that came through seemed to be in a fight with each other to see who came out on top.
Dutch Ratebeer Meeting Baarn. Dark brown colored, brown head. Nose of malts, bourbon, vanilla. Sweet flavor, chocolate, malts, lasting bitter finish. Good stuff. Ridiculously long name though.
Bottle@UDRBM. Brown bananas, bourbon, vanilla, very sweet. Well balanced, light alcoholic yet very easy going.
Bottle at Unofficial Dutch RB Meeting. Hazy brown pour, thin head. Aroma full of bourbon, nuts, vanilla and leather. Flavor is loads of bourbon, but very well balanced. Smooth and really well drinkable. Nice brew.
Bottle generously shared by StFun...thanks Josh! - Pours murky dark brown with a small tan head. Smell is sweet, hot bourbon--pretty overpowering, and ends up feeling pretty sticky and cloying. Taste is nutty, with a decent amount of bourbon heat, caramel, and bready malt. Syrupy and sweet, this one just has too many rough edges and is so dominated by the barrel aging. Not a fan, but glad I got to try it.