Review: Old Rasputin XII

I saved this beer for something special and when I found out I was getting promoted I went home and popped the cork on this!

This beer is their Old Rasputin that's been barrel aged in Bourbon Barrels. I've had the Old Raspy (the regular one) and I wasn't particularly impressed. I felt it tasted like charcoal. When I popped the cork on this it had a subtle pop due to the low carbonation of this beer. (Imagine popping the cork on champagne, and how much it's carbonated. This wasn't like that) Immediately as I poured this beautiful ebony beer into my snifter I could smell the bourbon. Behind that was a very dark cocoa, like if it was strait off the tree. This bourbon in the taste cannot be overlooked. You can taste the fruityness of the bourbon that's only there because of the aging in the barrels. A little woodiness is apparent too, but you're more likely to experience the chocolate as the other dominant characteristic. The aging smoothes it out, and the taste of bourbon is deceptive. It seems as if the alcohol character is big, but it's not. The alcohol is masked quite nicely, but at 11.2% that may not be a great thing. The body is medium. I'd expect this from an IPA or DIPA, but my stouts I enjoy a thicker and fully body. The taste of this beer completely overcomes any of it's weaknesses. It's a definite pleasure to drink! I'm glad I waited to drink this for my promotion!

Glassware

Beeradvocate.com has a great article about the importance of the correct glassware for the style of beer you're about to enjoy. Not all beers are created equal. Some beg to showcase their dancing carbonation while others are brewed to have an extraordinary aroma. Some brewers have actually engineered their glass before they have actually brewed the beer. Beer glasses come in many shapes and sizes. All of them have a different purpose.

I personally own eight different glasses that are used for a wide variety of styles. Here is the article that goes into more detail about the different styles that correlate with each glass. For me my glasses are like trophies. Each glass has a different story to it. For example my Carlsberg England World Cup Commemorative Glass was **cough** stolen **cough** for me by my buddy that went to England. The glass that means the most to me though is my generic Arrogant Bastard pint glass. Beside it being a great glass that can hold a wide variety of different styles in it, Arrogant Bastard was the beer that got me into drinking craft beer. Everytime I drink a beer out of the glass or glance at it on my shelf I remember my first ABA! Do you have any glassware stories?