Blood Oath Pact 3 Bourbon
Hm…Pact 3 and still no age statements, even in 2017. Well, at least it’s the last Pact without them.
Like Pact 2, though, the website for Pact 3 notes that one component is a rye…once, I can believe it’s a typo. Twice? I had to reach out to Lux Co to find out what was going on there. As of writing, I haven’t heard back, but I look forward to their answer.
Pact 3, like Pact 2, finished one component rather than the entire blend. A rye (I think they mean a high-rye bourbon, but we’ll see) was finished in California Cabernet Sauvignon barrels before being blended with a ryed bourbon. This is an interesting twist: instead of three bourbons, there are only two in this, and neither is a wheater. I’d love to know from John Rempe if he thought that pairing the Cab-finished bourbon with a wheated blend would end up too fruity - that was my first thought before remembering that Pact 2 had port-finished whiskey in it, and port will definitely give you stronger fruit than an unfortified wine.
Blood Oath Pact 3 Bourbon: 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 3 Bourbon Price: $100
Blood Oath Pact 3 Bourbon Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Light amber. Thin rims hold onto droplets.
Nose: Fruity and sweet, vinous. Just a hint of proof. Mild chocolate with a touch of oak.
Palate: Malty sweet, textured, some creamy oak throughout. Cognac and raisiny flavors emerge alongside chocolate. Mouthfeel is creamy and coating, tingly, with a light minty flavor. Tasty, but feels like there’s something missing.
Finish: Medium-bodied, vinous, not too heavy but coating enough to stick around.
Overall: Very good, but not quite up to the standards Pacts 1 and 2 set. It’s an enjoyable drinker and a plenty good bourbon, but for me there’s something missing. Based on my notes, I don’t understand what that is - all my favorite hits are here (creamy mouthfeel, fruity, coating, slight tingle) but yet I came away wanting in a way I did not with the previous two Pacts.
Final Rating: 6.8
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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