Cigar City Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: Imperial Stout
Tampa, Florida USA

Pours out black with brown head. Smells sweet and roasty. Taste is roasted malts with bitter hops. Sticky but not too sweet. Flavors of coffee chocolate and molasses like it says plus dark fruits and sweet caramel and vanilla. Could use some wood. Dry finish some alcohol. Thick and chewy. Good stuff.

Big thanks to Justin for this 750mL, poured into a tulip. Wow, is this one seriously good-looking beer. It pours pitch black out the bottle and seems to suck up all the light in the room underneath a thick mocha head that recedes very slowly and leaves sheets of lacing. The aroma is big, dark and roasty with tons of heavily roasted dark malts and plenty of espresso and dry cocoa powder. There is an underlying molasses sweetness that almost balances the roasted character. The taste is absolutely massive with all kinds of things going on. There is a heavily roastes dark malt backbone that underpins everything. On top is the very dry, almost chalky, bakers chocolate and cocoa character with some espresso. The sweetness of the molasses from the aroma is not nearly as evident, though I’m pretty sure it’s in there somewhere. Also, I get hints of tobacco in the taste as well, but maybe that’s just in my head...tough to tell with all the other things going on. The mouthfeel is full bodied and slick, almost oily, going down. It’s dessert-like and very thick on the palate with enough carbonation to keep it from becoming cloying. This is a huge beer all the way around - gorgeous looking and with a complex taste that I think will improve with time as the flavors start to meld together.

out of aa 750 ml. bottle. Pours very dark, light head, for over 9 percent it was smooth.

On tap at Capone’s. Pours black with a thick tan head. Has a smell of coffee. Has a coffee and toasted malt taste. Not bad but nothing special

Pours a pitch black color with massive three finger dark chocolate head that settles slowly and heavily laces the glass. Aroma is chocolate, roast, toffee, caramel, molasses, some slight smoky and woody notes. Flavor is sweet and roasty with notes of burnt coffee, chocolate, cocoa, molasses, light earthy notes, light notes of floral hops in the background. Generally full body, creamy, silky mouth feel and a roasted sweet malt finish.

Bottle from Kingdom Liquors. Poured a black color with an average frothy brown head that mostly diminished with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy roasted coffee, chocolate and alcohol aroma. Medium to heavy toasted chocolate malt flavor with a heavy dark bittersweet and small alcohol bite finish of moderate to long duration. Full body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. This is a standout beer.

750ml bottle, courtesy of Beerlando Black pour, nice flavors of dark chocolate, roasted coffee with hops playing in the background. Enjoyed it.

Bottle via trade thanks to Sebletitje, and another shared by Nick3 on BA. Pours jet black and thick with a medium thick brown head, very dark, leaving a small layer of foam and good lacing. Aroma is nice and intense with chocolate, coffee, roast, molasses, and black cherry. Flavor is similar to the aroma and really huge with lots of roasted malt as well as some caramel, dark chocolate, espresso, smoke, and lots of cherry. Some people thought there were actually cherries in this beer. Hops noticeable in there as well. Palate is really full and chewy with a long bitter hop and cocoa finish. A notch above Hunahpu’s even, with a creamier, fuller palate and higher drinkability, although it lacks the nice spiciness that Hunahpu’s has.