Blood Oath

Blood Oath is a very limited release bourbon out of Kentucky. The one I am tasting here is Pact 4, a 2018 release. It is a blend of 12 yr, 10 yr, and 9 yr old bourbons aged in both charred and toasted barrels. The bourbon is blended to 98.6 proof - the temperature of blood. This bottle sells for about $99.

It smells initially like caramel and coffee to me, with a toasty sweet smell and not a whole lot of alcohol. The bourbon starts with a clean sort of mineraly oaky sort of flavor and then melts into an almost milk chocolately flavor. This bourbon is exceptionally smooth with only a slight hint of a burn, and seems to just melt in your mouth with a mellow sweetness. If I keep looking for flavors i can find some hints of green apple towards the end of the sip, but the lingering note is the creamy chocolate finish. It is a lovely bourbon that is easy to sip neat. Adding an ice cube brings more of the oak and sharpness forward, hiding some of the creamy toasted chocolate flavors which are so delicious, but bringing forward fruitiness that was so subtle it was hard to find neat. Overall, I would say I prefer this particular bourbon neat but the flavor is quite lovely either way.