Cigar City Bourbon Barrel Aged Bolita Brown Double Nut Brown Ale

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: American Strong Ale
Tampa, Florida USA

Bottle #57. Pours brownish red with big head and thick white lacing. Nose is strong with bourbon, caramel, strong rich brown sugar and some woody notes. Flavor is great: bourbon, wood, caramel, vanilla, rich cocoa, dark malts, slight roast. Really surprised at how well the bourbon blended with the Bolita. A very good beer. Very easy to drink.

750 ml bottle - bottle #214/212; thanks riversideak for a rare CC treat!! aromas of sweet candy malts, brown sugar and bourbon; very rich and boozy, but not abrasive; texture has thinned from the barrel; oak, chocolate and sugary sweetness; bourbon is rich and heavy, yet never overpowering

2009 Bottle #137 - Got in a BA trade made possible by the philanthropy of BuckeyeBoy! - Pours similar to it’s brother, dk brown with a small off white head...aroma is bourbon oak, bread and roasty malt...flavour benefits from the barrel, mellows some of the burnt bitterness and blends the rest of the big tastes...bourbon still prevails over everything else, but I found it to be incrementally more enjoyable...

750 ml bottle thanks to Eric. Number 137/221. Pours a dark brown color with a small white head. The nose was a massive bourbon note, some toasted malts as well. The flavor is nice; vanilla, loads of bourbon, toasted malts, lots of earthy wood flavors as well. I liked this one. It was smooth and tasty.

2009 bottle shared by emacgee. Thanks Ethan. Pours a dark brown with a small tan head. Nose of bourbon, wood, tannins, vanilla, brown sugar. Flavor hits a bit harder with a big alcohol punch, some more wood and vanilla, and kind of hiding the base beer. Sweetness of the makers dominates a bit too much in the barrel aged version. Still, pretty good for a first try.

750mL bottle, labeled #164, courtesy of a very generous Tampa BA, poured into a snifter. Pours a dark chocolate brown with some clear mahogany showing through the edges. There is a small tan head that recedes almost immediately to a healthy collar and a swirl along the top. The aroma is boozy and sweet with the bourbon definitely coming through strong in the nose. On top of that is some vanilla, caramel and dark chocolate with a big dose of brown sugar as well. The taste is fantastic and complex with the big malty base beer blending perfectly with the bourbon barrels. Lots of caramelized sugar and booze-soaked dark fruits with the barrels coming out especially strong in the finish with bourbon and vanilla closing out a smooth finish. The mouthfeel is decadent for a brown ale - super smooth with a good soft carbonation and a faint dryness from the barrel, though the sweetness still dominates the mouthfeel, leaving the palate sticky with sugary malts and bourbon. Another excellent beer from Cigar City and one of the best brown ales I’ve ever tasted. Extremely complex with a dominant sweetness that just completely coats the mouth with all kinds of flavors.

750 ml bottle shared by iowaherkeye. Bottle 19/221. Nose is bourbon, caramel and vanilla with the vanilla and bourbon being overpowering. Clear cherry brown with a very small beige head. Flavor is big oak, vanilla, bourbon, caramel, and butterscotch. Heavy on the bourbon.

Bottle. Deep dark brown pour, thin even dark khaki head. A lot of bourbon, vanilla, caramel, and oak on the aroma, with some nuttiness coming out as it warms. The taste is dominated by a tannic oakiness, but a good amount of the nut brown character comes out on the finish.