I brewed this earlier in the year. My only exposure to stouts up to then was an occasional Guinness. When I first tried this beer, 2 weeks after bottling, I thought it was really sweet and harsh at the same time, and I thought that maybe I just didn't like stouts all that much. I then left it in my basement and ignored it for a few months. When I tried another one at that point, it still was a little bit too sweet for my taste, but it had become much smoother, with a hint of chocolate; pretty darn good.
I just brewed up a second batch last night. This time I decided to cut the lactose in half and add a pound of oats for a little more body and maybe some head. Also, I am thinking of adding just a touch of raspberry to it by using Chambord raspberry liqueur with some vanilla bean soaked in it, as McBob does for his Raspberry Milk Stout. I'm going to give it quite a bit of time in secondary (I'll add the nibs near the end of secondary) and won't touch it until at least 3 months from brew day. Although this seems like it would be a great winter beer, mine won't see a glass until early spring. I think I can deal with it, though.