The Ale
Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout Ale
Dark Horse Brewing Co.
Marshall, Michigan, USA
Late Winter Seasonal
No dates on the bottle
Must be from last February
That’s when it’s released
Bottle Size: 12oz
Abv not available (darkhorsebrewing.com)
12% abv on beeradvocate
Appearance: black body with a ½ finger dark tan head, don’t forget to swirl the last inch of ale to mix in the sediment, looked thick on the pour, dark tan curtain with each sip, does not leave much on the glasses except some syrupy legs.
Aroma: dark roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, burnt sugars, not powerful but pleasing
Flavors: espresso with roasted molasses, dark chocolate character, bitter notes on the mid and finish but it does not stand out, these notes all come together for one tasty Imperial Stout.
Mouthfeel: thick, almost syrupy, silky slide, this is a sipper
My Strength Rating: 7.5/8 – a solid medium-full bodied stout, the dark roasted notes linger on the palate for a tasty aftertaste.
To the Point: A very good Imperial Stout, not overwhelming as some Imperial Stouts can be, has some solid flavors to sit back and enjoy.
The Cigar
Gurkha Ancient Warrior Vintage Presidente
Special Edition
Wrapper: Habano
Fillers: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Size: 8.5 x 52
I would be surprised if it was a 50 ring gauge
I got 10 sticks for $40 on CI
Normally $65 for 10
I have not seen this one in years. This was one of my favorite Gurkhas back in the day. I always had a good stash of these in the humidor and it was a favorite to pair with a quality red wine. Let’s see how it is now that they brought it back on the market.
Off the Light: earthy start, soil like; a delicate floral note evolves and a toasty sweet tobacco. Let’s see how it goes with this Imperial Stout.
The Pairing: after a few puffs on the cigar I introduce the Stout. The Stout has a smooth and syrupy style with a sweet creamy coffee finish. This is going to be one nice pairing.
I then rest the palate for a moment and then take a sip of the ale before taking a puff on this big stick and the cigar flavors are focused on the rich soil earthy tones and the toasted tobacco leaf quality.
Mid-Point: a good hardwood note develops (reminds me of hickory) with the rich mineral soil earthy tones, toasted sweet Russian bread, I have not noticed that delicate floral note since the first inch of the cigar, toasted tobacco leaf
The Pairing: As I said earlier that I use to enjoy this cigar with red wine, well I now think I’ll have to enjoy this stick with some Imperial Stouts. The earthy notes, tobacco leaf, and sweet Russian bread qualities of the cigar match up perfectly with the ales dark chocolate, espresso, and roasted molasses profile.
Down the Stretch: the smoke is still rich in its earthy and toasty tobacco style. The sweet bready note has stepped to the side and the overall smoking experience now is more roasted like.
The Pairing: truly, I don’t know if this can get any better.
I bought several five packs a few months ago and I am just now sitting down to try one even though I have some older ones in the humidor. I sure hope the other ones don't taste this way for this one is not very good. There is plastic - metallic - taste to this stick and it never went away - I smoked it down to the two inch point.
ReplyDeleteI'll update when I try another one.