Blood Oath Bourbon Pact No. 5

I'm a little late to the party with this line, but better late than never. My first experience with the Blood Oath line with this Pact No. 5. Let's see if it's worth the hype and paycheck with the rum variant in this lineup. Nose: Standard bourbon notes of caramel, vanilla, cocoa, brown sugar. Orange citrus, as well as pecan, almond, and almond. A touch of molasses and sugar cane, though the rum influence is not too strong. Warm apple pie and apricot.Rounded out with oak, nutmeg, and clove. Palate: Brown sugar, cocoa, caramel, and vanilla translate. So does the almond and walnut. Grilled pineapple note. Still some molasses as well. Sawdust and woody notes. Meanwhile the nutmeg and clove is kicked up a couple notches, with a powerful black pepper note. Some dill in there. Dry and spicy oak. Finish: Some caramel, vanilla, and some mint/milk chocolate up front. Then it's all cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, clove, and oak spice. Moderate/long length. Let's break down the score. The nose is above average. The notes I get on the palate closely reflect the nose. However, the presentation of said notes feels disjointed and uninspiring on the tongue. The finish makes up for this a bit with a nice spicy kick, though, like the nose, I can only say it's above average. The rum casks add very little to help set this one apart. It's a good whiskey--no doubt about that. But I paid $100 flat for this. So it'd be hard to recommend it at this price. Especially when you can get a superior rum cask-aged bourbon in Jefferson's RC for $30 less. Conversely, there's the Old Ezra 7 BP, which I was able to find for less than half what this cost. It's an infinitely better value, and just a flat-out better bourbon. The above two paragraphs were written a couple years ago at this point. With every subsequent tasting, I’ve enjoyed this one more. Especially on the palate. As a result, I’m sitting here with my last glass revising my score, and adding a few notes to boot. Considering how rare this is in May 2022, and how much better this has gotten with time to oxidize, I’ve decided boost this from a 3.25 to a 4.25. The latter is how I’d score this in a vacuum where I had never scored it a 3.25 the first time. It’s a much more cohesive drink at this point, and delivers a very interesting, the notes of which I’ve sprinkled into my tasting section as a part of my revision. Since the bottle is now gone as of two minutes ago, 4.25 will be the final mark for what I deem a fantastic comeback performance.

OK - bought this a while ago and I've been letting it open up after a disappointing first few tastes. Poured about 1/3 of an oz about 15 minutes ago, so lets see. Nose - I'm getting a pretty standard "middle age" so under 12 if not under 10, but over 6 years old nose. I know this is a blend of aged bourbons ,but I can't recall so if I'm off I'm off. Vanilla, caramel, touch of dry lightly toasted oak, and perhaps some light fruity esters. I'm assuming those esters are partially influenced by the rum, but I could see getting these notes on a standard wheated bourbon as well. I'm not getting much in the realm of darker notes, even the oak is light and toasty. Taste - sweat, creamy corn, vanilla, wood spice, pie crust, and some notes of fruits. I think there's a bit of a jam, but I can't place it. It's sweat, younger wood character, spicy wood, and a bit hot. Finish - spicy, a touch hot, lightly toasted oak, and that's about it. Cuts off outside of just a lingering heat. Oh, I spoke to soon, I'm getting a touch of nutty notes now at the finish. This is a nice bourbon and it gives me a bit different and out of my normal bourbon notes, just due to more spice, lighter notes, and a lack of deeper darker notes I'd expect on a whisky with some age. The rum casks didn't really stand out, I think they are playing a role in this, but I'm not getting any notes I can clearly state are the result of the secondary finishing. I'm looking forward to how this develops in another 6 months of being open. With the above said, this is a nice 40-50 dollar bourbon, the 100+ price tag in most markets really drives the enjoyment and it is going to get reflected in the score a hair. I was a 2.25 without price and I tend to not overly let myself shift scores due to price. The idea is always 3 is worth getting if you're into the style and the price is your comfort zone and it adjusts from up or down accordingly. I however do also feel there are certain notes and flavors that should or can come with these higher prices and this bourbon drinks like a younger and yes less expensive bottle and so I'm dropping it to a 2. Wow that nutty note at the end really came out of nowhere. Without that I might have dropped into the 1's but it really made this an enjoyable pour.

AND WHAT BE A PIRATE’S FAVORITE CRIME? Okay. I think I understand now. Is it ARRRRRRRRSON? Pirate Milliardo stands up calmly, walks over toward his wiser but far-less-well-endowed friend, removes pegleg, and smacks him in the head with it. A TRUE BOURBON-LOVIN PIRATE WOULD NEVER RISK SETTING ANYTHING ON FIRE. There could be bourbon in there. IT BE LARRRRRRRRRCENY. This is the rum barrel finished bracket of my finished bourbon experiment. Tonight is the final taste test for best rum finish. Borough (who beat Dovetail) vs Blood Oath Pact 5 (who beat Jefferson’s). Side by side, these are both very good bourbons. The noses were equal in quality in my book. Very different, but very good. While excellent, the body for BOP5 fell short for me. On the other hand, the finish for BOP5 was phenomenal. Overall enjoyment pushed the tie in the direction of Borough for the win. Next blind taste test will be in the red wine cask finished category. Really excited about trying that whiskey space. The taste of Blood Oath Pact 5: This smells like so many old bourbons. I get a sour mustiness, lemon, and earthy scents. That oak left an impression, much like it does in Rhetoric or WTMK. Overall impression is sour lemon. The body delivers on the citrus, but it’s more of an orange note now. You can find a leathery grain, but it’s not the main flavor. There’s also honey, sugar, and loads of oak. The finish for this one is truly special. Depending on how I breathe, I can get chocolate, coconut, marshmallow, or vanilla. It’s definitely a desert finish, and it’s well executed. It takes a lot of discipline to enjoy this one. It’s so full of oak, it will be inaccessible to some. If I take a sip while focusing on something else, I get nothing but oak and brine. You really have to hone in to get past those, but if you do, you are rewarded. I’d wager if you come to this guy after a 25-year Rhetoric or some other comparable oak bomb, the flavors would be even more accessible.

The nose is quite herbal with some licorice showing up (not overwhelming though) and clear grassy notes. There's some herbal spice scent and definitely some barrel. The faintest hint of red fruit makes it into the nose, but it's trivially minor. It reminds some of Whistlepig 20 more than I would really care for on the nose. The palate has some spice for sure, but it is less aggressive than expected. The ABV makes its way through, but it doesn't dominate. Some rich chocolate and toffee notes are maintained though they take a moment to come out. Those rum barrels add a nice complexity. There are nice variations on sweet and rich going on here that blend together in a pretty balanced fashion. It's a bit more on the fun side than more bourbons because of the rum, but the balance is quite good and it is strong. This has a unique bourbon-rum balance that I quite like. The overall flavor is on the young side, but not in an upsetting way - more like how Booker's tastes when sufficent water is added. Vanilla and brown sugar make their way in but they balance with the wood nicely. Some spiced notes come through that balance out nicely, but they don't taste excessively like rum. This might be a little lighter than I'd normally like, but it is interesting and complex, reminding me of Corsair Grainiac and Wild Turkey Jewbillee (though tasting completely different). I do wish that the wood came off as a bit older, but the flavors are quite nice. This edges out regular Elijah Craig, but is it really worth the price difference? Well, it's quite interesting and tasty. The wheat and the rye do make their way out here, making it taste substantially younger than it is.

I just returned from a long weekend in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  The Lower East Side is home to several of the city's best whiskey bars, and my first stop was Copper & Oak.   Copper & Oak is a tiny space, with room for no more than a dozen people at a time.  It provides a space for patrons to sit and thoughtfully enjoy their spirits - mostly whiskey, but rum and mezcal as well. My latest whiskey obsession is American blends, so I started with the Blood Oath Pact 5, which would be the first Blood Oath I've tried. Pact 5 is a mix of a wheated bourbon with two high rye bourbons, one of which is finished in rum casks.  It has some sweet elements from the rum finished rye bourbon and the wheated whiskey. But overall, I found it to be heavily dominated by rye. While I've enjoyed a few high-rye bourbons, they're not usually among my favorites.   Those who don't love rye should not expect the wheated bourbon addition and rum finish to be entirely transformative - this is still a high-rye bourbon at its core.  For rye aficianados, however, I suspect the wheat and rum will likely feature much more prominently   I was glad I had the opportunity to sample the Pact 5.  It's an unusual creation, and at $100-150 a bottle, it's not something I'd buy casually (unlike the $26 bottle of Pike Creek that I recently purchased).   The whiskeys used in the Pact 5 came across as well aged, and I found it to be an easy sipper.  While not entirely a match for my palate, I'm sufficiently impressed and will keep an eye on future Blood Oath releases.

Nose: banana, heavy red apple, powdered sugar, bourbon and rum caramel, light pear / citrus Taste: high rye is definitely apparent with some black pepper and baking spices with cardamom up front. Slight hint of dill pickles. Very crisp light finish with minimal burn. Definitely blended well for what it is. One of them might have been sourced from dickel as I taste the charcoal sour note in there as well but it might also be the rum funk. Doesn’t stay on the palette long though. The oak is very strong if you hold it in your mouth long enough. Water turns the nose into very sweet powdered sugar dusted apples with caramel sauce. The taste adds the oak to the flavor but is mingled really well. It turns strong almost soapy and dry towards the end, but what do you expect from nearly 15 year old barrels. The TLDR is that this is a masterpiece of blending but the ingredients may not be the best quality / meld the best together. Definitely worth about 80 - 100 for a bottle or 30 for a pour if you can appreciate it