Crux [Banished] Tough Love Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
Vital Statistics
From the brewer
Tough Love is bold but nuanced, an homage of sorts to the traditional Russian Imperial Stouts and the ruling style of Catherine the Great. We construct it with dark roasted malts, malted rye, and oak-smoked wheat, and then banish it in Kentucky bourbon barrels. The aging process smooths out the edges on an otherwise bold statement, and bitterness succumbs to tender strokes of vanilla beans, hints of dried cherries, and new layers revealing themselves with each sip.
Average Scores
Overall: 
(logged 9 times)
(logged 9 times)Draft: (logged 2 times)
(logged 2 times)Bottle: (logged 7 times)
(logged 7 times)Who's been drinking this
2020 release
Light smell for something that tastes so strong. Something soapy and distracting in body.
2015 release
Strong bourbon notes pervade this inky stout. There's a dry, slightly tacky plummy quality at the heart of the flavor, and some yeasty bitterness that builds up quite strongly into the aftertaste. It was quite a bit more bitter than I remember. Decent, but not what I think I had back then.
2013 release
Smells inky and tart, but if anything, it translates into a subtle fruit overtone rather than any detectable sourness on top of a smooth, malty stout mellowed considerably by barrel aging. The fruitiness, cherry-like but mostly unidentifiable, surfaces on the breath between sips. Delicious.