Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

Bottle thanks to Ryan. Pours thick muddy brown with purple tint... and absolutely no head. What a bummer. Palate is thick but flat; like drinking cream. Luckily it smells and tastes pretty damn fine. Figs, raisins, bourbon, vanilla, and some chocolate. I think I’m tasting some cherries, too. Hint of licorice. Damn, if this was carbonated even a little bit it would be near perfect.

Bottle courtesy of mashmaster, cheers! Aroma has notes of sweet caramel, licorice, raisins and other dark dried fruits, bourbon, vanilla and toasted malts. Very impressive aroma. Very dark amber hue that sits almost black in the glass. Very large foamy tan head that mostly diminished and left little lace. Flavor is sweet vanilla and bourbon that finishes slightly dry. Full bodied and oily with an almost lively carbonation and cloying finish. Very good brew and much better than the brandy barrel angels 375ml. Rich and complex but with a very drinkable mouthfeel. Delicious but a bit over rated. Glad I was able to try it.

375ml bottle, 2008 release, courtesy of Immy (thanks, tim) crushed with GandGKevin for rating #200! pours a very dark, slightly hazy, ruby brown with a big, bubbly light tan head. aroma is huge and jumps from the glass with big scents of toffee, caramel, raisin, and vinous fruit with a lovely hint of oakey bourbon. flavor can only be described as elegant yet huge with big, sweet, dark malts, prunes, cinnamon, a touch of sour red fruit, and smooth, smokey bourbon with hints of vanilla. palate is big, full bodied, slightly sticky with a perfect sweetness and a long, warming, bitter toffee finish. simply an unbelievable beer and certainly the best barley wine i’ve had the pleasure of drinking.

Pours dark brown, with a light brown head. Aroma is bourbon, wood, vanilla, and dark fruit. Flavor is bourbon, dark fruit, malt, vanilla, wood, and caramel. Fantastic!!

Bottle shared with ksurkin from Immy. Thank you! Caramelized bourbon and raisin aromas with a little whiff of alcohol. Alcohol very well integrated on the palate. Very smooth and palate caressing malts tasting of raisin, caramel, and black raspberry . Finish lingers with a bourbon-esque and caramel flavor. Loved it!

This rating for the original 2007 Release.
In short: A big earthy malt orgy the American way, nothing more, nothing less. Excellent.
How: Bottles 375ml. Original bottling (2007). Bottles sent to me by doubleO, hapjydeuce, WeeHeavySD. Thanks to you all guys.
The look: Near black body topped by a small tan head
In long: This is not a normal rating. This is a comparative rating from a blind tasting of the original Angel’s Share (2006 bottling) and the original Bourbon Barrel aged (2007 bottling). Complete description in my Angel’s Share rating which I had on many occasions. This Bourbon Barrel version has a slightly stronger carbonation, soft in the regular Angel’s Share, medium in this one. The Bourbon Barrel has a little more caramel and the alcohol is a bit more present. This Bourbon Barrel aged feels a tiny bit more roasted than the original. But to make a long story short I was surprised at how similar the regular Brandy Barrel and the Bourbon Barrel were. The barrel character was hard to identify in both (very subtle or very well integrated) and during the blind tasting we kept changing our mind about which was which. I really wanted to pick a favourite at the blind tasting but I kept changing my mind. The truth is that it was impossible for me to pick a less excellent. I felt like a father who has to chose which of his two sons to sacrifice in order to feed the starving family. With both sons looking equally delicious.

375ml corked and caged bottle. after thoroughly enjoying the regular Angel Share for my 1000th rating, I had high hopes for this. sadly, I was disappointed. started out as a moderate gusher and when poured gingerly into my snifter, it ended up being mostly foam and taking several minutes to settle. aroma was alcoholic with some vanilla and hints of dark fruit and caramel. tough to get any depth or complexity from tasting this as all it did was foam up in my mouth. way too carbonated. nothing at all like the original.

Bottle 08. Deep brown/black. Smells bourbony, sweet malt, dark fruits. Tastes of fig, oak, vanilla and heavy bourbon. Very warming full body. I could drink this forever.