I thought this would be an interesting beer tasting, two of same beer, one regular Imperial Stout and one Whiskey barrel aged imperial stout from same brewery. Since both were in 22 oz bottles, I shared both with my buddy Bob at his house, but he is in the process of moving and his wife packed all the glasses except these little sampler glasses. lol Makes the bottles look YUGE.

Moylans Brewing - Ryan O'Sullivan's Imperial Stout and Ryan Sullivans Imperial Stout Whiskey Barrel Aged 2017

Stats

• Brewery: Moylans's Brewery - Novato, California
• Alcohol Content: Regular 10.0%, Whiskey aged: 11.0% by volume
• IBUs: Regular 55, Whiskey 60
• Company Description: Originally brewed to withstand the long voyage from London to Czarist Russia, Imperial Stouts are rich, thick and intense. Named in honor of St. Patrick's Day Piper, Ryan Sullivan's Imperial Stout brings chocolate truffles, espresso coffee, burnt currants and the sweetness of sherry to mind. This is the classic "Cigar Stout."
  For the Whiskey Barrel aged: Blend of 35% rye whiskey barrels, 35% bourbon barrels, 30% imperial stout with vanilla beans.

Presentation
These both come in 22 oz dark brown bottles with identical labels, the only thing that sets the Whiskey aged apart is a small sticker on the front and the cap is waxed on. The labeling is identical including all the beer stats. the label is a wrap around plastic coated label, pretty standard for Moylan's beers, which are instantly recognizable in the stores. I have never seen anything but a 22 oz beer from Moylan's here in Montana. Their web page indicates it comes only in 22 oz bottles or on draught.

Here is the regular Imperial Stout

And the Whiskey Aged

The Beers

• Appearance: Both beers look about the same, dark brown-nearly black with a nice tan foam head that dissipated pretty quickly but these tiny glasses were harder to tell.
• Aroma: The regular Imperial stout had a dark roasty aroma with hints of coffee while the barrel aged had a clear whiskey aroma.
• Taste/Mouthfeel: Both had the same mouthfeel, lightly carbonated with a rich texture, thick and viscous. The regular was a tad on the bitter side with a bitter finish, hints of coffee and roasted malts. The barrel aged had a clear boozy presence but not overly so, it was kind of sweet and the bitterness was mellowed significantly by the whiskey. Pretty smooth with the addition of the barrel aging.
• Drinkability: I would rank both about the same in drinkability, mainly due to the bitterness of the regular and the booziness of the barrel aged. I give the edge to the barrel aged though since it was less bitter.

Ratings and Final Thoughts

I rated the regular imperial stout a solid 4.0 on Untappd while I gave the 2017 whiskey aged a 4.25. Their overall ratings are very close to that. The whiskey aged gets the nod due to its sweetening and lessing of the bitterness of the regular stout. Both are solid imperial stouts, the regular more of a classic while the trendy whiskey aged mellowed out the regular version.

Regular 4.0/5 Whiskey Aged 4.25/5

I thought this was kind of a cool experiment, I have not done this before and the opportunity presented itself for me to try this and the results were interesting to say the least. Hope you enjoyed this, might show up in the Week 48 Beer Saturday contest but time will tell. Cheers!