Firestone Walker Parabola

As part of my July 4th weekend, I opened up a couple of interesting bottles. One of those was the Firestone Walker Parabola, the latest release of their Proprietors Reserve series. Parabola is a barrel aged imperial stout aged in a few different types of barrels and then blended to make one excellent beer.

The nose immediately lets you know this is aged in bourbon barrels. Big bourbon nose, really sweet, smells almost chewy. Thick mouthfeel, completely coats your mouth. Reminds me a lot of their Abacus that I had a few months ago back at monks. First sip was hugely complex. Starts with bourbon, vanilla, chocolate and a hint of alcohol. Considering it's 13% not terribly surprising there's a little alcohol but it's incredibly well masked. The finish tasted like chocolate milk. Just fantastic. My brother in law thought it tasted a bit like Bailey's. As I drank more, I started getting some hints of graham cracker from the booze and molasses notes similar to other big imperial stouts. Just awesome and I'm really glad I have a few more bottles. It was everything I look for in a barrel aged imperial stout and was super drinkable at 13%.