Modern Times 'City of the Dead' Nitro Stout with Cocoa Nibs, Almonds, and Sea Salt. 7.5% abv. 30 IBU. Dense black with a pinkie finger of beige, rich, foamy head. Outstanding retention that is typical of nitro beers, and superb thick lacing like melted ice cream. 

Nose of ground coffee, dark chocolate, with subtle bourbon notes emerging as the temp rises. Front taste of brewed coffee, bittersweet cocoa, vanilla, light wood notes on the back end. Aftertaste is dark chocolate, burnt caramel, faint caramel, mild herbal expression. Medium-full body. Mouthfeel is warm, thick, creamy, a touch astringent.

This is a very good coffee beer that is a tad shy of excellence. The chocolate and coffee flavors are prominent throughout, but the promised almonds and sea salt are absent, with the bourbon taste nearly so. This beer benefits from 10 minutes in the glass, with buried aromas and flavors standing taller as the temp rises to room. Given enough time to warm, it steps forward tasting more like a milk stout than anything else.

Still, even with time on the table, with all its cards laid out, the commendable flavor profile leaves me wanting more, if only because I've had so many superior similar beers. Based on its description, which includes almonds, sea salt, and bourbon barrel aged coffee beans (the coffee is BBA, not the beer itself), this beer clearly aimed high - but narrowly missed its mark. Still, it's surely a good brew to try, particularly if you enjoy coffee beers. Recommended.

From the brewery:

"This groundbreaking export stout is brewed with house-roasted, bourbon barrel-aged coffee. Yup, bourbon barrel-aged coffee. This unique process imbues our coffee with the incredible flavor and aroma of a freshly emptied bourbon barrel, which carries over magnificently into this rich, chewy beer. Unlike any other beer in the world, City of the Dead is immensely flavorful and unforgettably delicious."

[source: moderntimesbeer.com]

Caldwell 'Blind Man's Bluff' Toro. 6x52. Medium brown wrap. Good construction with smoothed leaf ends and mostly subdued veins. Cut and lit well. Easy-medium draw pre- and post-light, getting easier with the burn. 

First half tastes of wheat bread, herbal leaf, mild earthy spice. Aroma is mild leaf with bright herb notes, leather. Second half offers more wood taste with walnut and rounded leaf notes. Mouthfeel is warm and creamy all across, with a gentle wood and spice expression. 

Ash was very clean, nearly all light gray, flaky, blooming and holding over an inch. Burn was uneven at first but was corrected soon after with a secondary light.

This is a superb mild cigar. It's creamy from the start, unlike the recent Connecticut Kreme I had, which needed to burn its way toward an eventual creamy taste. Today's offering was creamy, mildly spicy, with plenty of bready and herbal tones. Well recommended.

Special thanks to Anthony of CigarsCity.com for providing this cigar. It was my first time having a Caldwell, which is not available in my neck of the woods. I'm definitely going to get another in the future.

From the company:

"Robert Caldwell has burst onto the boutique cigar scene like some sorta supernova, and it seems like there’s no stopping his meteoric rise. You see, he makes cigars his way…he scours farms across the globe for the best tobacco leaves, tests and retests his blends until he gets the exact flavors he’s looking for, and keeps production limited in an effort to deliver a superior product. My word is bond, son, and I’m telling you once you try a Caldwell cigar you will count yourself among his growing legion of fans. Blind Man’s Bluff comes wrapped in an enticing Ecuadorian Habano leaf atop a refined Honduran Criollo binder, long-fillers from the Dominican and Honduras ramp up the intensity. Tasty notes of cedar, bread, and sweet spice all enter the fray with a long and cool finish topping off the experience. Do yourself a favor and pick this sucker up before everyone else beats you to it."

[source: cigarsinternational.com]

Central City Brewing Imperial Porter. 9% abv. 60 IBU. Black in color, with two+ fingers of rich tan head. Superb retention and outstanding lace. Nose of heavily roasted, almost burnt malt, dark chocolate, vanilla cookie. Front taste of bittersweet chocolate, black coffee, bitter earthy hops, sour fruit back end. Aftertaste of burnt dark malt, pungent bitter fruit, espresso, notes of vanilla, with banana peel on the sustain. Medium-full body. Mouthfeel is warm, creamy, silky, astringent.

This is an outstanding beer that was nearly derailed by a couple of flaws. The high points are the exquisite head and body, the complex and inviting aroma, and the rich taste of dark chocolate, coffee, and roasted grain. The low point is the aftertaste, which starts fine but quickly becomes overly bitter and roasted/burnt, saved only by its pleasant sustain. During the start of that aggressive aftertaste, I briefly wondered if my bottle had expired - it's never a good sign when one wonders that. Still, worts and all, this is a superb imperial porter, one that offers more character than many in its category. Highly recommended.

From the company:

"Deep aromas of roasted malts and bakers chocolate combine with a silky full body, leaving you wanting more."

[centralcitybeer.com]

"This original release of this was a 2011 draft-only batch and is retired. In 2013/2014 bottled beer (also on tap at the brewpub) with a black label was the Bourbon Barrel Imperial Porter, but the label was not clear about that. The Autumn 2014 bottling (red label) is the return of the non-bourbon version."
[source: ratebeer.com]