Score: 100
2014 vintage bottle served in a Hunahpu's Day snifter and enjoyed on 03/25/14.
Appearance: Pours an inky black color with a half finger of espresso colored head that settles to a thick ring around the glass and island of head floating in the center. Okay head, but unreal retention. Nice oily legs, and serious browning of the glass from the swirl. 5/5
Smell: Big cinnamon and burnt sugar/molasses on the nose. Apple brandy, chocolate, mild licorice, dark fruit and vanilla too -- everything in a perfectly, syrupy balance. A kiss of leather too as it warms. 5/5
Taste: A little touch of spiciness upfront, followed by a huge cinnamon kick, chocolate, burnt sugar/molasses, dark fruit and vanilla. Such a great balance of flavor. Minimal licorice on the palate, if any. As it warms, the rum character comes through more. The apple brandy, which was somewhat prominent on the nose, is overshadowed and without much trace in the taste -- not that it matters much since this beer is delicious regardless. A kiss of tobacco comes through as it warms. Lingering milk chocolate with cinnamon. Damn delicious. The pepper liveliness picks up a touch as it warms up, but it never arises to the level of the California Brandy Aged Hunahpu's. 5/5
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, good carbonation. Just a touch pepper liveliness. Good bittersweet balance, creamy mouthfeel. 5/5
Overall: Pretty much a perfect stout. Better than Apple Brandy Aged Hunahpu's -- and that's a bold statement. So much complexity going on here, all near-perfect alignment. This bottle was much better than the first one that I consumed about a month ago.
Cost: $25 for a 750 ml bottle
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