Boulevard Tasting Room Whiskey & Cabernet Cask Imperial Stout

I have to admit that I wasn't sure what I was in for when I bought a bottle of this stuff yesterday. The description on Boulevard's website makes it sound like they threw together whatever was just laying around, forgot about it for a year and called it "aged":

"This beer is a blend of two different imperial stout recipes aged in an arrangement of rye finished Cabernet casks, French oak Cabernet casks, bourbon barrels, and barrels once containing both Cabernet AND bourbon."
~~The Boulevard website Tasting Room page

I must admit that I was completely wrong about the apparent cobbled-together nature of this stout.

It pours a dark brown with scarlet highlights without much of a head. There is a distinct wine-ish aroma and at the same time a hint of high-end whiskey. For some unknown reason these two aromas go perfectly well together and do not clash at all. The high (12.5%) ABV gives it a boozy quality as well. As it warms up, I can taste something akin to chocolate covered cherries and there's the usual dark fruit suspects.

I was pleasantly surprised. This is not one to give to your lawn guy.