Blood Oath Pact 4
There we go - age statements! I don’t generally care that much about them, but these blends are pulling together several different bourbons and for that reason I care more than I would otherwise. Plus, this came out in 2018 - age statements were dropping like flies, so it’s refreshing to see them being added rather than subtracted.
Pact 4 brings together a 12-year-old, 10-year-old, and 9-year-old bourbon, with the last of these finished in toasted bourbon barrels (used bourbon barrels that are re-toasted). Of the newer three Pacts, this was the one I was most looking forward to. I love well-done toasted barrel finishes (see Michter’s for a brand that does toasting right), while poorly-done toasted finishes can end up being bready or too woody for me.
This is a great blend, full-stop. The toasty notes from the 9-year-old bourbon is perfectly integrated into the whole, and all three fit into the right age range for my palate: the 12-year-old, while adding oak and body, is not woody. Being a bit easier to find than the earlier Pacts, I might just try to find this one for myself.
Blood Oath Pact 4: Specs
Classification: Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskies
Origin: Lux Row Distillers, Unknown Source
Proof: 98.6 (49.3% ABV)
Age: NAS
Location: N/A
Blood Oath Pact 4 Price: $100
Blood Oath Pact 4 Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Burnished copper. Medium rims slough quick and large droplets.
Nose: The toasted note is immediately apparent - toasted wood and marshmallows browning. Charred fruit on a grill. Sweet corn, fresh and charred and mashed into cornbread. Vanilla baked goods with a touch of drying oak.
Palate: Spicy up front, lots of toasted marshmallow and creamy cinnamon custard. Vanilla bean flan, a little oaky, but otherwise delicious. An intriguing no-chocolate S’mores note. The toasted bourbon adds an interesting vanilla warmth. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, coating, quite creamy, leaves the charred marshmallow laying heavily on my tongue.
Finish: Toasty, warm, interesting, and sweet - makes me want more and more. I finished my glass before I realized what I was doing.
Overall: Really well done - using the toasted bourbon staves right amps the vanilla to 11 and adds fantastic body without adding woody notes. Marshmallows on fire and creme brûlée topping is hard to beat in my book.
Final Rating: 8.3
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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