What can you expect from Goose Island’s 2025 Bourbon County Brand Stout lineup? We attended an exclusive media event and have some answers.

Goose Island invited us to preview last year’s lineup after our podcast took off, and they generously invited us back for this year’s tasting. I broke down the science of BCBS in last year’s writeup, and I strongly recommend you check that out if you’re curious about the nuts and bolts of how the stout is made. If you’re just here for tasting notes, then read on!

But first, a quick note for new visitors: I’m Cody, executive producer of Crafty Brewers: Tales Behind Craft Beer, an award-winning video podcast recorded on-location at Chicago area breweries and hosted by radio veteran Brian Noonan. Our show is about the brewers behind your favorite beer: how they got started, what they’ve learned, and which beers you should be trying. And since brewers are really fun to talk to, we also share a lot of laughs! We’re on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app.

Our impressions from the press tasting are organized in the order we drank them. Goose Island’s lineup was introduced by President Todd Ahsmann, Senior Brewmaster Daryl Hoedtke, Senior Manager of Innovation Mike Siegel, and Senior Brand Manager John Zadlo, who oversees Goose Island’s Vintage Portfolio (including Bourbon County).

Together, they shared the stories behind each beer, from the science of barrel aging to the creative flavor concepts and packaging design that make every release unique. Following the same approach as our podcast, I’m here to help tell that story and let you know what to expect from each variant, not to “rate” each beer. So let’s get into it!

(Please note that Goose Island did not disclose every ABV; where we caught them, we note the ones we heard, but we’ll confirm the final ABVs as the release date gets closer.)

2025 Bourbon County Brand Original Stout

How they described it: The team framed Original as the control: the same base beer used for every 2025 variant, blended from multiple bourbon barrels and aged to develop chocolate, molasses, cherry, vanilla, coconut, and oak spice. They emphasized that they brew it for aging, where time and the barrel are ingredients, not afterthoughts. Mike Siegel described it nicely: “if you’ve never had it before, ‘liquid dessert’ is kind of the simplest way to describe it…chocolate, cherry, vanilla, caramel, coconut…you like those flavors, and it delivers.” Daryl Hoedtke highlighted vintage nuance: “you get some dried fruit character, a lot of cherry, and the whiskey for sure is there. Some oak notes as well.”

What we thought: Nice mouthfeel and complex flavor profile, as always. I agree with Daryl that this year’s original has a palpable whiskey presence; it definitely tastes a little more boozy/heavy than last year’s Original, which was slightly sweeter. Original has a flavor profile that changes with each release because temperature variations from year to year are always different, and that leads to certain characteristics emerging more strongly than others. I’ll admit that due to my excessive sweet tooth, the 2024 release reigns as my favorite recent Original because I remember it tasting super chocolatey. But honestly, the 2025 release is probably my second-favorite Original from the past five years. If you enjoy that bourbon character, then you’re going to fall in love. This year’s balance is honestly really impressive.

ABV mentioned: 14.8% (to be confirmed)

2025 Bourbon County Brand Reserve Stout

How they described it: Reserve spent two years in Parker’s Heritage 10-year rye barrels. Parker’s is a brand that comes out every year. It’s a very limited release, and they never make the same whiskey twice. John Zadlo explained: “Rye has a pretty nice structured tannin quality to it. As you get a little bit older and extended aging, you’re getting a little bit more tannin coming out of the barrel. I think it expresses really beautifully in this beer…you get that nice mouthfeel to the beer itself. And then rye has this nice kind of spice quality, a little herbal quality as well. It also has this little bit of like a wintergreen kind of personality to it that I also really love.”

What we thought: Earthy notes and definite rye character, but balanced and not too bitter (I avoid many rye stouts, but this one was perfectly enjoyable). I didn’t think the Reserve tasted wildly different from Original, but it definitely was distinct by adding new dimensions. Great slight variant on a solid core beer.

ABV mentioned: not shared

2025 Bourbon County Brand Double Barrel Stout

How they described it: Here, they double down on barrel-as-ingredient: year one in bourbon barrels, then racked to fresh Bottled-in-Bond (7-year) Heaven Hill barrels for year two. What is Bottled-in-Bond? Well, as Siegel explained, it comes from the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, one of America’s first consumer-protection laws. The law required distillers to produce whiskey from a single season, age it at least four years in a bonded warehouse, and bottle it at 100 proof, essentially giving it a guarantee of authenticity and quality in an era when whiskey was sometimes “cut” with everything from tobacco juice to turpentine.

This variant honors that heritage by sticking to the real deal: Goose’s barrel team even rejected a batch of 4-year barrels that accidentally arrived, insisting on Heaven Hill’s proper 7-year BIB casks. The result is a bold, oak-driven stout that pushes the spirit character forward without losing the balance that Todd Ahsmann insists defines Bourbon County: “We like balanced beers. We’ve never figured out how to market that in a sexy, romantic way. Balance isn’t an easy thing to talk about or distinguish. But to be able to make a 17.4% beer and have it be balanced is really, really difficult.” Siegel summed up the variant as “Less sweetness, more perceived alcohol, more perceived flavor.”

What we thought: This was one of my favorites! The mouthfeel was really rich, thick and malty, which noticeably set it apart from Original and Reserve. To me, it might have even been the “smoothest” variant. I fully agree with Ahsmann that this variant achieves a particularly impressive balance; you’d never know this has an ABV of over 17 percent. I emptied my glass much faster than I did the previous two. This one really just hit all the right notes for me. Honestly, this is probably my favorite variant outside of Proprietor’s.

ABV mentioned: 17.4%

2025 Bourbon County Brand Chocolate Praline Stout

How they described it: Here’s a behind-the-scenes visual for you: a five-foot-tall wall of nuts. In the barrel house, brewers packed a 60-foot-long tank with 1,500 pounds of roasted almonds, cashews, and filberts (hazelnuts) to infuse the stout. Hoedtke explained, “You’d be amazed at the difference an ingredient can make. Just the other day, we tasted a couple different types of cacao nibs, and the difference in the one beer with the one type of cacao nib — exact same beer — with the other? Shocking. Shocking. Almost like completely transformed the beer to something that you wouldn’t even recognize.”

Siegel said that over the course of almost a year, they trialed “a combination of nuts and cocoa nibs from all over the world, different sweet characteristics, dozens and dozens of raw ingredients in countless numbers and combinations” before locking in the final blend. They reintroduced the base beer to that mountain of nuts, adding dates for a caramelized sweetness that ties everything together.

Ahsmann added that they used so many nuts, they had to warn a taproom bartender with allergies to stay away from the brewery because there was so much dust (“or whatever”) from the nuts in the air. The result: a beer that smells like a chocolate shop and tastes like time itself: rich, balanced, and decadent without overdoing the sweetness.

What we thought: For me, this was a surprise hit. I hadn’t been looking forward to it as much as some other variants, but boy, was I wrong. In my notebook I simply wrote “f***ing good.” I distinctly remember turning to Brian and asking him if he downed his glass in three sips (he claimed he didn’t; I remain skeptical). But we did seriously crush this beer. The mouthfeel was full and the nuttiness really balances the chocolate in a way that gives it a surprising flavor profile that absolutely delights. Don’t sleep on this one.

ABV mentioned: not shared

2025 Bourbon County Brand Cherries Jubilee Stout

How they described it: After standard bourbon aging, they finished the beer in Cognac barrels and conditioned with Montmorency cherry (puree + concentrate), panela, and orange to channel the flamed-dessert template. “Cherries Jubilee, ultimately, is that kind of classic flambe dessert, and it harkens back to literally everything you taste. From bourbon to the stout, to the char in the barrel, the flambe fire toast char — all of that comes through,” Zadlo told us, adding that this is the first time a variant was used a cask finish like this. Siegel described the taste as cherry up front, orange in the finish, sweetness and baking spice like cinnamon and nutmeg, and molasses-like notes on top of a smooth mouthfeel.

What we thought: Pleasantly, the cherry flavor is not overpowering. I had expected something much sweeter, but this felt to me like a well-balanced dessert beer. It doesn’t taste like a milkshake or a super sweet dessert beer like previous years’ Caramella Wheatwine (which I loved). The Cognac barrel character comes through in the most delicious way ever. Really fantastic blend of flavors you don’t want to miss.

ABV mentioned: 14.5% (to be confirmed)

2025 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout

How they described it: Fun fact: every Goose Island employee, from brewers to HR, can submit recipe ideas for Proprietor’s each year, and they’re judged blind by a tasting panel. This year’s winning concept came from brewer Colby Magratten*, who also created last year’s winning Proprietor’s Barleywine variant, making her a rare back-to-back champ. Her inspiration was baklava: pistachios, walnuts, cinnamon, and a pastry-like richness that still lets the base stout shine through. [*Editor’s note: a previous version of this article attributed this variant to “Brad.” This was an error in our notes. We apologize to Colby for the misprint!]

Zadlo said Proprietor’s is “our love letter to Chicago, of everything that makes the city what it is…it’s bold. It’s kind of like the idea of like, we wanted to celebrate that we are who we are. We don’t care whether or not other people want ketchup on their hot dog. We don’t care. We like what we like, and so Proprietor’s is the answer to that.” (Speaking of ketchup, you can catch Brian and me arguing about ketchup at 49:08 into our latest podcast episode.)

What we thought: Mind-blowing. This is one of my favorite Proprietor’s they’ve ever done. You feel like you’re eating a pastry, but it’s cut with the flavor of the original stout with just the right balance so it isn’t overly sweet. This was far and away my favorite and the most impressive variant, and I look forward to having it again the most.

ABV mentioned: 13.9% (to be confirmed)

Bonus Pour: King Henry II Barrel-aged English-style Barleywine (Prop Day exclusive)

When Goose Island rolled out this year’s surprise pour, jaws literally dropped. This was insane.

Some context: every year, Goose Island hosts an event called Prop Day, an outdoor street festival where ticketholders can hang out and drink this year’s BCBS variants and take home some beers before they’re released more widely on Black Friday. This year, you could buy a premium Prop Day ticket that added on a bottle of a beer called King Henry II. Back in 2011, Goose Island released a barrel-aged English-style Barleywine called King Henry, and this is the next evolution of that beer.

How they described it: The team revealed they brewed only around 500 bottles’ worth of King Henry II, and Prop Day tickets that included the bottle sold out in seven seconds. Ahsmann said “This isn’t us trying to limit the amount that we make. We just didn’t have enough barrels to make them up! So it really is exclusive.” This barleywine was aged in barrels that once held Bourbon County Rare.

Brewed with Thomas Fawcett malts for extra caramel depth, the beer pours a deep mahogany and delivers layers of toffee, oak, and silky malt sweetness without cloying heaviness. Hoedtke explained: “We use a lot of amazing malts from North American maltsters and we love them, but there are some other amazing malts that are made over on the other side of the ocean, the Atlantic, and specifically Thomas Fawcett malts we used for this beer. Across the board, I think they gave an extra little bit of depth of character, a lot of caramel, a lot of complexity. So you be the judge, but I think it it really did the beer justice.”

What we thought: One of my favorite BCBS variants of all time was the 2015 Barleywine.  Since I first had that beer, barleywine has become one of my favorite beer styles…when done correctly. And Goose Island always does barleywine correctly. So I was ecstatic when I heard about this super-limited “King Henry II,” but I did not secure a special Prop Day ticket to get a bottle. Here is audio of my reaction when I realized they were going to serve us a glass (shouting at 0:27 seconds):

Yeah so, obviously I was pretty excited. And holy wow, it delivered: thick, rich, malty, and layered with flavors so complex, I couldn’t even process what was happening (though in fairness to me, it probably didn’t help that at this point in the evening, I had sampled at least a full bottle’s worth of extremely high-ABV stouts). This is what a good barleywine tastes like. Like I said, I didn’t get a Prop Day ticket with the King Henry II bottle, but after tasting this, I will never sleep on a Goose Island barleywine again.

ABV (confirmed): 13.5%

Bonus tasting tip: how to drink Bourbon County Brand Stout

Did you know that stouts are best served at slightly warmer temperatures than other beers? For BCBS, Goose Island recommends starting around 50°F and letting each beer warm toward 60–65°F. The dessert-leaning variants bloom, while the spirit-leaning variants become silkier.

Which beer fits your mood? For the adjunct variants, reach for the Chocolate Praline if you want luxe fudge/nut trail mix; Cherries Jubilee if you want fruit-bright dessert with a Cognac wink; Proprietor’s if you’re chasing pastry, but grown-up.

TL;DR

In case you skipped to this section instead of reading my 2,500 word essay, here’s what to expect from this year’s BCBS lineup:

• Original — Nice mouthfeel and complex flavor profile, as always. A little more boozy/heavy than last year’s, but not in a bad way. Great balance, and the bourbon character really comes through.
• Two-Year Reserve (Parker’s Heritage Rye) — Earthy notes and definite rye character, but not overpowering. Slight to moderate, not massive, difference between the Original and Reserve, but definitely adds new dimensions. Great slight variant on a solid core beer.
• Double Barrel (Bottled-in-Bond) — Rich, thick/malty mouthfeel that clearly sets it apart from Original and Reserve; overall might have been the smoothest one. Possible favorite.
• Chocolate Praline — Surprise hit; I simply wrote “f***ing good.” Full mouthfeel; the nuttiness balances the chocolate and gives it a surprising, delightful profile.
• Cherries Jubilee (Cognac Finish) — Cherry flavor is not overpowering and it’s far more balanced than I expected. Doesn’t drink like a milkshake; Cognac character comes through in the most delicious way. Fantastic blend you don’t want to miss.
• Proprietor’s — Mind-blowing. One of my favorite Proprietor’s ever. Feels like eating a pastry, cut with stout character so it’s not overly sweet. Far and away my favorite of the lineup.
• King Henry II Barleywine (Prop Day Exclusive) — Rich, caramel-heavy, perfectly malty, and stunningly limited. Tickets sold out in seven seconds, and the beer lives up to the legend.

Thank you once again to Goose Island for inviting Crafty Brewers: Tales Behind Craft Beer to check out this year’s Bourbon County Brand Stout variants. Now check out one of our podcast episodes — I promise, they’re shorter than this post. Cheers!