Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Biscotti Stout 500ML

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Biscotti Stout 500ML is a bourbon barrel-aged imperial pastry stout bottled at 14.3% ABV in a 500ml format. This limited variant of Goose Island's iconic Bourbon County Stout series draws from the Italian biscotti tradition, layering marzipan, anise, and cocoa into one of craft beer's most celebrated barrel-aged platforms, earning a 4.2 out of 5 on Untappd across more than 15,700 ratings.

Quick Facts: ABV: 14.3%  |  Origin: Chicago, Illinois, USA  |  Imperial Pastry Stout  |  Brewery: Goose Island Beer Company

Production & Heritage

Goose Island Beer Company, founded in Chicago in 1988 and acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2011, launched the original Bourbon County Stout in the early 1990s — widely credited as one of the first bourbon barrel-aged beers ever commercially released. The Biscotti variant ages in freshly emptied bourbon barrels sourced from Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses, and Wild Turkey distilleries. The concept originated from Goose Island HR team member Jill Cerone, whose Italian heritage and love of chocolate-dipped biscotti inspired the brewers to engineer a stout with deliberate notes of anise, marzipan, cocoa, and buttered toffee layered over the base beer's deep barrel character.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Almonds and marzipan arrive first, followed by waves of dark chocolate and a subtle, licorice-tinged anise sweetness. Beneath those, the bourbon barrel presence adds warm vanilla and toasted oak.

Taste: The entry is rich with marzipan and molasses, quickly developing into a mid-palate loaded with cocoa, toffee, and roasted coffee. Anise threads through the sweetness without dominating, while woody bourbon notes and cereal grain provide structure. The full, viscous body carries a creamy, almost oily texture that amplifies each flavor layer.

Finish: Long, sticky, and chewy with lingering almond, dark chocolate, and vanilla. A gentle boozy warmth from the 14.3% ABV persists alongside oak tannins that keep the sweetness grounded.

How to Drink Biscotti Stout

Pour this stout into a snifter or tulip glass at cellar temperature — around 50–55°F — to allow the complex aromatics to open fully. Sipping neat is the primary recommendation; the barrel complexity and layered flavors reward patient, undiluted attention. For those inclined to experiment: a Stout Float using vanilla bean gelato leans into the dessert character; a Black Velvet riff blending a small measure with dry sparkling wine creates an unexpected textural contrast; and a Beer Cocktail Old Fashioned substituting a portion of bourbon with this stout adds roasted depth and marzipan sweetness to the classic template.

Best For

• Sharing after a holiday meal as a dessert course substitute
• Gifting a craft beer collector who follows the annual Bourbon County releases
• Vertical tastings alongside other Bourbon County Stout variants
• Cellaring for one to three years to track how barrel and pastry flavors evolve

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Biscotti Stout taste like? It delivers rich marzipan, dark chocolate, and anise flavors over a base of toffee, vanilla, and roasted coffee, with a full, chewy body and noticeable bourbon warmth at 14.3% ABV.

How does Biscotti Stout compare to the original Bourbon County Stout? The original Bourbon County Stout emphasizes straightforward barrel character — chocolate, vanilla, and oak — without the pronounced marzipan, anise, and toffee additions that define the Biscotti variant. Both share the same bourbon barrel-aging program, but Biscotti leans further into pastry-dessert territory with its Italian biscotti-inspired flavor profile.

Is Biscotti Stout good for sipping neat? Absolutely — the viscous body, layered aromatics, and complex finish are specifically designed to be savored slowly from a snifter at cellar temperature.

Where is Biscotti Stout made? It is brewed by Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois, and aged in freshly emptied bourbon barrels from several major Kentucky distilleries including Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses, and Wild Turkey.

What foods pair well with Biscotti Stout? Dark chocolate truffles amplify the cocoa and marzipan notes; tiramisu mirrors the coffee and vanilla barrel character; aged Gouda provides salty contrast to the stout's sweetness; smoked brisket stands up to the full body and roast; and amaretti cookies echo the almond and anise directly.

What sizes does Biscotti Stout come in? The standard release is a 500ml bottle, consistent with the Bourbon County Stout variant lineup.

Is Biscotti Stout worth the price? It positions as a premium limited-release barrel-aged stout within a series that has set the benchmark for the category since the early 1990s, and the single-barrel sourcing from top-tier bourbon distilleries supports its premium tier pricing relative to standard imperial stouts.

Why Biscotti Stout?

The Bourbon County Stout program is one of the longest-running and most respected barrel-aging series in American craft beer, and the Biscotti variant brings a genuinely distinct concept to the lineup — one rooted in a specific cultural tradition rather than a generic flavor addition. Aging in freshly emptied barrels from four of Kentucky's most prominent bourbon distilleries gives the base beer serious wood character, while the intentional layering of marzipan, anise, cocoa, and buttered toffee transforms it into something closer to a liquid Italian pastry. With more than 15,700 Untappd ratings averaging 4.2 out of 5, the Biscotti expression has earned a dedicated following among barrel-aged stout enthusiasts who seek it out each release year.