beer_name: St-Ambroise Stout Impériale Russe
text: Pours black as crude, with not a trace of a colourful highlight to be found. It's black depth is abyssal. Crowned by a thin layer of relatively well retained mocha head. Really nice lace. Aroma of black licorice, dark chocolate, coffee, and whiskey. Also smells of vanilla, smoke, and wood. Palette of french roast coffee and dark fruit. A hint of smoke in the background. It's charred, roasty bitterness is intense and lingers long. You can taste the bourbon, but even as it warms it never becomes boozy and alcoholic. Very dry with almost no residual sweetness. Almost full bodied with low carbonation. Not quite chewy, but very smooth and silky feeling. You look forward to the next mouthful between each mouthful. Delicious. 2009 bottling