Destihl Dosvidanya Vanilla Rye 2017

Brewed By: Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works in Normal/Bloomington, Illinois 
Purchased: 500ml (1 pint, .09oz bottle) bought at Destsihl in Bloomington, IL; 2017 (batch date: 2017)

Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout, 12.5%
Reported IBUs: 83

Rumors of infected bottles of Destihl's DVR make a man do crazy things, like actually drink the beer you bought. About Destihl: 

Destihl is a brewery (Bloomington) and brewpub (Normal, IL & Champaign, IL) based out of the Midwest. Specifically, the middle of Illinois in the middle of the United States. Daaaa midwest. The brewery was founded by CEO & Brewmaster, Matt Potts, in 2007. Like many brewery founders, Potts started out as a homebrewer, and would eventually trade his law school education and law practice for those sweet barley suds. Destihl currently brews a myriad of regular and barrel-aged beers, including an increasing portfolio of tasty sour brews. For more info, check out their website. 

So Dosvidanya is Distihl's big barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout. It is clearly inspired by beers like Bourbon County Brand Stout, but has its own unique flavor profile. The Vanilla Rye was a special 2017 release along with the brewery's 10th Anniversary Special Release of Dosvidanya. This is a "Russian Style Imperial Stout brewed with vanilla aged in rye whiskey barrels." The bottle says, "10th Anniversary special release 2007-2017." The back says:
 
"In 2007, we opened our first brewpub in Normal, Illinois with a mission to brew beer styles that are bold and flavorful. Staying true to that mission, this special batch of Dosvidanya was brewed at our old production brewery as a farewell to that facility and aged at our new brewery as a celebration of that expansion and our 10th anniversary. We've come a long was and learned a lot in our first decade. With this release, we raise our glass and look forward to another 10 years. Cheers!"  

Destihl Dosvidanya Vanilla Rye 2017

Breaking news: this looks Stout-like. I'll give a shout out to the bottle, which is awesome. The blue wax is fucking cool, man. This also has good head retention and isn't totally lifeless. The aroma here is awesome. You get Lindor chocolate balls, and the vanilla leans towards the sweet and fruity with raspberry and berries. The berry/vanilla-chocolate sweetness invites raspberry truffles and chocolate truffles. 

The taste is pleasantly rich (and not infected, praise be). The rye profile and bourbon come out first, followed by dense chocolate, fudge, vanilla, and then some nice drying dark chocolate cake, more earthy roast, coffee, and rich earthy chocolate truffles. The finish on this is fantastic. It's deep and rich like when you bite into a nice piece of chocolate cake. That lingering dry chocolate profile hangs around in your mouth adding to the duration and palate experience. It is tempting to go in for another sip, but you want to enjoy that lingering finish just a bit longer. As I sip this more, I pick up more of the alcohol and spirit.

You know, I like this a lot. I don't think this is a game changer or anything crazy, but it is dialed in and perfectly executed. It is not quite Vanilla Rye good, but hey, not many beers are. And I don't need this to be Vanilla Rye. Like I said, the duration of this beer is amazing. Palate depth is pretty solid too, with bourbon and chocolate up front; rye and vanilla mids; and that bumpin' chocolate cake finish. It brings a full body, and rides the 12.5% ABV just right. 

Rating: I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average (4.25/5.0 Untappd)

Random Thought: There is a paradoxical irony about this beer, because while I don't think it is a game changer, it is still vastly underrated. Which is good, for me, the local Destihl customer. Stay away beer nerds.