Very bourbon forward and has a nice sweetness. Very different from any other Black Ops I’ve had.

Decent flavor, a bit tropical, and just slightly too much bitterness.

A bit more bitter than I expected and not at all creamy, as I assumed based on color and haziness. Good, but not something I’d buy again.

Tasted like a wheat beer more than an IPA.

Still tastes great. Starting to detect a hint of age, but not in a bad way.

Still tastes as I remember it. Sad they haven’t made this again.

Holding up really well.

Still so good.

Holding up nicely so far. Still strong whiskey and fig flavors, with malt on the finish.

Really interesting. Bold malty flavor, softened by the brandy and made slightly sharp by the whiskey. Sweetness from the figs and dates.

This has held up amazingly well. Lots of coffee and velvety mouthfeel with a dark chocolate finish that lingers on the palate. I’m glad they started making these again.

Nice malty, roasty, coffee flavor and boozy. Yum

Starting to lose a little something. Presented a little more bitterness than I remember. Probably best fresh.

Very light, and fruity. A little strange, but refreshing and crushable.

Nice flavor. Wish it was slightly less bitter and a little creamier. Large chunks of sediment.

Bourbon County Vertical 2021 Still tons of vanilla.

Crazy amount of vanilla.

Each one I open has a varying amount of vanilla. This one is like chugging a bottle of vanilla extract; a bit heavy.

Vanilla is still very prominent. The original recipe comes in with rich chocolate and malt on the finish.

Oh wow it that a lot of vanilla that hits right away! Yum. Then the really dark malty, chocolatey flavor from the stout comes in, followed by the booziness of the bourbon barrels. Excellent!

Very sweet. Not my favorite member of the Bourbon County family, but still good. Has to be sipped to counteract the sweetness.

Sweet with flavors of caramel and apples, with a hint of cinnamon. The booziness is well hidden but becomes more prominent in the finish. I prefer their classic barleywine, which sadly they haven’t made in 2 years now. This is like dessert.

So much coffee. Not sure this has changed much in 3 years. The cinnamon just ends up adding a butter finish.

Did a side by side with 2019 Café de Olla and 2020 Special #4. In the end, they’re both fantastic, but the Café de Olla wins. Thankfully, the cassia bark aka cinnamon has calmed down in the Café de Olla.

Coffee in this is tasting really nice. I still hope they go back to a coffee only BA stout, but this is good. The base also shines through with a lot of dark chocolate and malt.

This seems like it has changed a bit since being fresh. Overwhelming amount of rich, dark chocolate and malt with just a hint of the coffee, orange and cinnamon.

Lots of coffee up from that gives way to the acidity of the orange peel and spice of the cassia bark. The finish is dark roasted malt, that leads into dark chocolate and heat. Still prefer 2015/6 coffee over any subsequent release so far.

Bourbon County Vertical 2023

Still really great. Lots of rich, dark chocolate with a hint of booziness and sweetness.

Bourbon County Vertical 2022

Bourbon County Vertical 2021

Super smooth, complex, boozy, chocolatey, and delicious. Left it a bit warmer than usual and that allows the flavors I love to shine right away.

Vertical 2020

Very dark, lots of dark chocolate and sweetness. I think this one was best fresh.

8 year vertical

Mmmm. Welcome back my old friend. This is the BC I fell in love with but haven’t had since 2014. Dark, malty, bourbony booziness. Yum

Tons of dark chocolate. Not getting the maple nor the rum. Nice warmth in the back of the throat. Been waiting a lot of years to try the base beer, which is still like to try. This is good, but I’d back off the dark chocolate a bit.