It gives us no small amount of pleasure to deliver some authentic, no-BS good news: With no Darkness Day and an overwhelming need for something special to brighten up this holiday season, we’re sending Darkness variants to liquor stores for the first time ever. We’ve discovered over the last few years that our legendary Russian imperial stout, already damn near perfect, plays well with others. Your 2020 selections:

Vietnamese Coffee Darkness. Pitched by brewer Matthew McKenna last winter and inspired by the flavors of Vietnamese coffee–traditionally made by mixing concentrated coffee with sweetened condensed milk–we infused our Darkness base with a blend of organic robusta and arabica coffees from UP Coffee Roasters, vanilla beans, and coconut. After quality time aging in rum barrels, the rich coffee notes and enticing aromatics mimic the silky, bittersweet beverage with a distinctly dark twist.

Mole Darkness. This one, inspired by the impossibly complex and satisfying sauces native to south-central Mexico, was a 2019 Darkness Day favorite. Mole comes in almost infinite varieties, and our take features bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon, and a mild heat from guajillo chilies, all from a housemade sauce crafted by renowned pastry chef Joanna Biessener. Time well spent in bourbon barrels tempers the spice, adding a rounded, vanilla-esque sweetness.

Double Vanilla Darkness. Darkness already has inherent notes of baker’s chocolate and dark fruit–making it the perfect candidate for a double dose of aromatic vanilla. Double Vanilla Darkness features rich cacao flavor, sweet vanilla, and a honeyed character from aging in spirit barrels that were previous used to age rye whiskey.

These variants begin hitting stores on December 11th. As with 13, Fourteen, and Culture Collab, you can find these in individually boxed 16 oz. cans. Artwork is by 2020 Darkness artist Barbara Guttman (website: https://www.marteani.art/, Twitter: @MarteaniArt) featuring the mythical Gorgon.