Happy Birthday United States of America. 🇺🇸🎆🇺🇸🎇🇺🇸. 250 years and still going. So grateful to my daughter, her husband Ryan,and her family wanting to share this with me. Houston is only a click away. We decided to enjoy a special 2024 Bourbon County Vanilla Rye Stout. From the very first Ryan and I knew that this was a special beer. The intense aroma delivers the 14% alcohol, heavy dark malt, rye whiskey and a brief wiff of oak barrel. Texture is heavy while still not clinging to the mouth. No modest dispersal of flavor. Intense dark malt, strong rye whiskey, and abundance of raw natural vanilla. The 14% immediately warms the mouth and makes my gums tingle. The finish adds traces of expresso coffee, cocoa, both being gentle but expressive. Ryan and I both quickly agreed that this wanted desperately to become a 5.0. We waited for it to warm to see if it would bring new negative characteristics. No new flavors arrived however the balance teetered with rye moving up, vanilla turning a tad more raw, the cocoa becoming more milk chocolate, while everything is under the blanket of a gentle rye barrel flavor. I took small sips as long as I could knowing that when it was gone there wouldn't be another. Easily earning a 5.0 rating and a wonderful birthday gift for the USA's 250th birthday. 🇺🇸🎆