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As I said, I picked up some good shit at Espuma before they closed their doors.  I mean, not many black beers go wrong for me.  Plus, I know Laugar.  And I know Russian Imperial Stouts.  Braskadi is actually a collaboration with Perro Libre of Brazil, so there could be some sunshine from the south hidden in this thing.

Good color, although a bubbly more than a creamy head.  The aroma is sort of a chocolate liquor, promising sweet and alcohol roughness.  At first it is a little chocolate bon-bon, but it only takes a couple of seconds for a wave of licorice to pour in and settle down, remitting only slightly at the end when coffee makes an attempt to be noticed.  There's also a bit of woodiness in the aftertaste.  It turns out palo santo is in the mix, which might explain that.  It might also be the source of the slight spiciness, being an aromatic tree and all.  There's also supposed to be raisins, but I am not finding a trace of them in this beer, although their essence seems to show up in other dark beers like a ghost or a hologram.  The licorice kind of dies down after a couple of sips, leaving a heavy dark chocolate and coffee profile to the flavor, like many a stout.  It's pretty heavy, but in spite of that there's a snappy feel and an energy that lots of stouts, especially sweet ones, don't command.  I want to say it's like a blend of cinnamon and mint, but it isn't quite either of those things.  I'm going to shrug and chalk it up to the palo santo.  Maybe this is a good luck beer with that kind of stuff in it.  Witch's brew, anyone?

Supplier: Espuma
Price: €3.26