The Dragon’s Milk Reserve series from Michigan’s New Holland Brewing showcases the company’s signature bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with limited reserve editions highlighting specialty flavor combinations. The brewery’s latest for 2022, Reserve 2 (or 2022-2 for short), is based on stroopwafel cookies with coffee, which sounds rather decadent. The description says:

This adventure begins with a slumber in select bourbon barrels, imparting notes of vanilla and oak to this brew. A tantalizing blend of baked stroopwafel cookies, sweet caramel, aromatic cinnamon and freshly roasted coffee provide a delectable dessert-like finish, completing the quest. Raise a glass to victory!

New Holland sent me samples to review; it’s packaged in 12-ounce bottles which makes sense for an 11% ABV brew like this. It’s also 30 IBUs and in case you didn’t catch the description, yes, it was aged in barrels with real stroopwafel cookies, coffee, caramel, and cinnamon.

My review:

Appearance: Dark brown, translucent chestnut color at the edges when held to the light. Tan head fades quickly.

Smell: Rich and bourbon-y stout base with coffee and a touch of spice. There’s a subtle creaminess that has a caramelly note, almost syrupy, with coffee liqueur mixed in. Turkish coffee, candy caramels.

Taste: Sweetened, cinnamon-spiced dark roast coffee, vanilla bourbon notes, nice deep roast that almost goes sweetly smoky, enhanced by the spice. I don’t know that I get much caramel in the flavor but it’s rich and sweet with a pleasant mellow booziness, so while I don’t find the cookie character specifically, it’s awfully compelling to sip.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied and rich with a lingering spiced coffee flavor.

Overall: Very, very good, a terrific imperial stout emphasizing coffee with bourbon notes. This is definitely a dessert brew, and a good one to split.