Cross an authentic Italian espresso bar (not an American chain) with quality dark chocolate and a splash of bourbon and you should come up with something like this. The oak-aged-beer wizards at Scotland's Innis & Gunn have come up with another winner, labelled "01" because it's the first in its Vanishing Point series of limited-edition offerings. This is an imperial stout matured for more than six months in barrels that had contained bourbon. Velvety, dense and weighing in at 11-per-cent alcohol, it's better than the sum of its coffee-cocoa-whisky parts. Dear Santa: I'll take two bottles. Available at the above price in Ontario, $14.99 in a handful of British Columbia stores, various prices in Alberta, $14.99 in New Brunswick, $14.98 in Newfoundland.