I first had this beer at Ashley's in Ann Arbor on tap. It used the 'nitro tap' which gave it an incredibly creamy taste, similar to Guinness. I had to have it again, so I picked up a few bottles while I was out to see how it would compare.
12 fl.oz bottle, poured in glass
Appearance
It pours like well used motor oil...thick and BLACK. It's completel opaque with a huge, caramel colored head. No carbonation to be seen and it looks like a rare, yet to be discovered ancient sea creature might actually live in it. Lacey head that lingers on the glass while drinking.
Smell
Strong, almost burnt caramel aroma with a hint of coffee and lots of malt. Just a hints of flower makes it out as well.
Taste
Coffee, molasses, dark chocolate and a well done dulce de leche taste are present. Like it had been cooked on too high of heat and had burnt just a tad. I can taste the alcohol (it DOES have 9% ABV...) but there's enough going on that it's not out of balance. A LOT of malt flavours to balance out the high alcohol content.
Mouth
Very thick with a little carbonation. Just tickles my tongue a bit as it goes down. Nice, smooth feel that is reminiscent of what I had on tap, just not quite as creamy. It's like someone poured heavy cream in my beer...it's that smooth and creamy.
Overall
This is the best Russian Imperial I've had ever. It's so much better on tap, but the bottled stuff really does it well, too. It's one of those beers that I want to have more then one or two, but just can't because of the high ABV. I give it a 3.8/4.0
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