Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout
Poured into nonic, nice almost completely opaque, pitch-black body except for ruby high lights behind a lamp, with tan like off white head that lingers about a centimeter off the surface. Smells of nutty chocolate, slightly buttery, toasted malt, notes of coffee, berries, slight sweet raison, plum mix and a tiny little hint of vanilla buried under every thing else. Flavor is very complex some bitter coffee with a subtle yet enduring sweetness, rich coffee, chocolate finish not cloying, some sherried raisins and fruit. Slightly milky and oily, flavor all around, not too thick tasty stout to be savored. I find that with most RIS they demand attention to their subtlety, in order to be properly enjoyed and this is no exception. Delicious, maybe not my favorite, but absolutely worth enjoying.