Dragon's Milk 2020 Reserve 3: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout w/Vanilla & Chai Spices

 Dragon's Milk strikes again! See my last entry for my thought's on the use of the Dragon's Milk brand by New Holland Brewery, also see this link for all the varieties of  Dragon's Milk:

https://dragonsmilk.com/dragons-milk-reserve

This version has got several of my favorite things: it's a stout and it's bourbon-barrel aged (not a quad, but one can't have everything!)

Two things hit me immediately: the alcohol heat of the 11% ABV tickles the nose and evaporates at the back of the throat; and the chai spices all but stand up and do a dance on the taste buds. The 30 IBUs give it a moderate hoppiness that is somewhat lost in all the flavor. Speaking of flavor, the vanilla bean is certainly not neglected and the bourbon aspect is stronger than most other barrel-aged brews. As it slowly achieves room temperature there are hints of raisin, fig, plum and weirdly, banana. Background tastes of cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Pretty damn good.