Every Black Friday, beer geeks line up outside beer shops to purchase the highly coveted Goose Island Beer Co. (owned by ABInBev) Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS). Made since the 1990’s and one of the first barrel-aged stouts, BCBS and its sub-brands are sought after by many.
Each year, I rank the lineup, which includes some new flavors and ideas. Which one will take the top spot? Let’s find out.
#6-Bourbon County Brand Reserve Stout
The Reserve version is the original stout aged aged in Heaven Hill’s Parker’s Heritage rye whiskey barrels for two years. When I opened this one, I could smell the alcohol coming out of the bottle straight away. The aroma gave me pause: it reminded me of booze mingled with raisinet candy. But no problem, this beer is 15.2% ABV so alcohol should be part of the equation. Unfortunately, the alcohol flavor was in full force upon first sip, bullying the secondary and tertiary flavors into the background. There was a fair bit of carbonation too but it felt like got in the way. The finish of this beer was dry and powdery, similar to eataing a spoonful of Nestle Quik. If you are one of those “gotta catch them all” type of BCBS buyers, take this and put it in your cellar for a few years to round out that alcohol. This beer will get better with age for sure.
#5- 2025 Bourbon County Brand Double Barrel Stout
Double barrel is a fun concept, why use one barrel when you could age this beer for a set time (Goose Island does not mention aging time here) in barrels of freshly emptied Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon and then do it again with another barrel freshly emptied barrel? The strongest ABV of the lineup (17.4% ABV!), if you put this beer under my nose while wearing a blindfold, I would have thought it was just straight bourbon. The aroma of this beer is vanilla with this heat, similar to the reserve. The flavors are mingled really well here though with lots of velvet fudge tones. The finish is really lovely as well. If you love bourbon, this one is for you.
#4- 2025 Bourbon County Brand Chocolate Praline Stout
The three “sweetened” pastry style stouts in this year’s lineup are firmly in the dessert category. Chocolate praline is the original BCBS with cocoa nibs, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, and dates added. The aroma is heavy marzipan, almond extract and a whiff of alcohol. I did appreciate the “lower” ABV of this one at (cough) 14.6%. There was a melted rocky road ice cream flavor and mouthfeel that I found myself really into. The almond flavor was nice although I can’t say I got any of the dates or cashews. I like this as an after dinner drink/dessert as it ticks both those boxes quite well.
#3- 2025 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Baklava Stout
Only available in the Chicagoland area, Proprietor’s makes a return to dessert stout taking inspiration from baklava. Flavored with walnuts, pistachios, cassia bark, and honey, I enjoyed the allspice aroma of this beer very much. The honey note came through well over the imperial stout base and lingered long in the finish. The nuttiness came through in the middle and it was a real showstopper. I found baklava to be an odd choice because it is a sort of delicate dessert and imperial stout, well, that’s not delicate at all. If you are in Chicago though and have the opportunity to purchase this, I would.
#2- 2025 Original Bourbon County Brand Stout
I’m very pleased this is now in a 10 oz. bottles and for sale in four packs as it feels more easy to share between two people. I always found the 500 mL bottles cumbersome but well suited to a group setting. The aroma is pure cherry, coconut and chocolate and it smells amazing. I was excited that when it poured as it poured less viscous than some of the other stouts that are out there nowadays that look like thick motor oil. The first sip also had carbonation, which many brewers are eschewing in favor of more pétillant mouthfeel but I think it adds to its drinkability here. And at 14.8%, the drinkability is quite high. The beer had flavors of baker’s chocolate, bananas foster and an excellent burnt caramel finish. Aged in a range of Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, Heaven Hill and Four Roses for an average of 12 months, this is a must buy.
#1- 2025 Bourbon County Brand Cherries Jubilee Stout
Anytime cognac barrels are mentioned, my ears perk up. In this version, the original bourbon barrel aged stout is finished in cognac barrels and then that beer is blended with Montmorency cherries, citrus, and panela (a Latin American hard brown sugar). The aroma of this beer reminded me of so much dark fruit and booze; like what I imagine a Victorian era Christmas punch would be like. And on first sip, wow this one is a stunner. I get every flavor although more cherry cordial than cherries jubilee and the finish reminded me of a cherry tootsie roll pop. The cherry and chocolate notes worked so well together. I highly recommend getting this one.
Cheers to you and yours this holiday season and remember to drink responsibly and to share beers with people you truly care about.