I mentioned previously that I was “flavoring” some cigars with Bourbon and was going to drink some beers alongside the sticks.  We’ll here is my first of numerous reviews to that affect.  This is a beer/cigar beer review, so more bang for the buck is a handy mantra for these thoughts.

First, it’s been a while since I had this beer and this particular one has matured for about a year and a half.  In fact, it was bottled in April of ’07.  Jefferson’s Reserve is a quite a good bourbon on its own (especially the small batch stuff), so I was excited to drink this Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout beer.  It is made by Bluegrass Brewing.  Upon the pour, it looked nice and blackwith hints of brown coming through when held up to the light.  There was very little head retention after the beer sat for a second. 

A slightly metallic aroma was noticeable on the nose, while Bourbon vanilla, caramel, and nuts were evident.  There were also grain-driven chocolate, sweet malts, and coffee to be noticed.  A charred wood aroma also came through.

The charred wood was also slightly smoky in the taste of the beer.  All the above mentioned grain and bourbon qualities were also present in the brew.  One thing that was lacking was the sweetness that the malt presented in the nose.  I found the beer to be a little thin for a stout but still having some good taste qualities.  There was a slight dryness throughout the stout, which was especially pleasant with the dry woodiness of the beer.  There were no notable hop qualities to the beer.  I’ve had much better bourbon stouts than this, but it was still not bad at all. 

Drinking this beer with a Kristoff cigar was another matter altogether.  Let me say that the cigar picked up some wonderful bourbon qualities, which were imparted by the George T. Stagg that I flavored it with.  The cigar seemed to add a slight sweetness that intermingled wonderfully with the beer.  Of course, the cigar also made the beer seem much less dry that it was.  By way of contrast, I really enjoyed what the dryness of the cigar did for the perception of the beer.  The toastiness of the grains really pushed through the beer.  The sweet smokiness of the cigar made some nice additions to the beer, while pushing the alcohol and fruits to the front of the palate.  Wonderful experience…I bet even more with a really good beer.  I’ll let you know.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Bourbon Barreled Stouts: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Stouts ★★★☆☆