Bourbon

Blood Oath Pact No. 8

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Blood Oath Pact No. 8 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Finished in Calvados casks

49.3% ABV
$110
Website
Blood Oath Pact 8
We would like to thank Luxco and BYRNE PR for sending us samples to review.

What the Blender Says

Lux Row master distiller John Rempe continues his annual pact with bourbon drinkers with the release of Blood Oath Pact 8 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in Calvados casks. A limited supply of 17,000 (3-pack) cases will arrive at retail this April at a suggested price of $119.99 per 750 ml bottle.

Blood Oath Pact 8 features a combination of the finest bourbons Rempe could find, including a 14-year ryed bourbon and an 11-year ryed bourbon, as well as an 8-year ryed bourbon finished in Calvados casks. Calvados is an apple or pear brandy from the Normandy region in northwestern France that is distilled from cider and aged for a minimum of two years in oak casks. These casks impart their unique aroma and flavor to make Blood Oath Pact 8 a one-of-a-kind pour.

Like with previous pacts, Rempe promises to make the best bourbon for the bourbon connoisseur, and as usual, he promises to never disclose the origin of the bourbons used to create Blood Oath Pact 8.

“I’ve once again sourced three great bourbons for Blood Oath Pact 8, and I’m particularly excited to include a bourbon finished in Calvados casks,” said Rempe. “The Calvados cask will bring additional tasting notes characterized by slight apple on the nose, with hints of vanilla and cinnamon, as well as flavor notes of ripe apples, juicy pears, butterscotch and even subtle hints of chocolate. Blood Oath Pact 8 is a bourbon I’m proud to share with bourbon lovers, but the recipe is a secret I’ll be keeping to myself.”

Blood Oath Pact 8 features a label similar to its series predecessors, but in a rich green hue to signify apples and pears, which are used to make Calvados brandy. The official launch of Blood Oath Pact 8 will include a total allocation of 51,00 bottles, 1,400 of which will be held for a future Trilogy Pack release. The first Trilogy Pack, featuring Pacts 1, 2 and 3, was released in 2018, and the second Trilogy Pack, featuring Pacts 4, 5 and 6, was released last September in conjunction with National Bourbon Heritage Month.

TASTING NOTES
AROMA: Slight apple on the nose with hints of vanilla and cinnamon.
PALATE: Ripe apples and juicy pears combined with butterscotch and hints of chocolate.
FINISH: Apples, pears, butterscotch, and chocolate.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Salted caramel, musty rickhouse, toasted orange zest, cinnamon, hints of baked apples and pears.
Palate:  Caramel, vanilla, honey, rye zip with cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, hard apple cider and bit of mint.
Finish:  Moderately long, slightly drying with apple cider, caramel and mint.
Comments: Another really well made whiskey. I appreciate that Rempe and team have consistently used a deft hand with finishing in the Blood Oath pacts, so that it truly is a ‘finish’ that adds some subtle complexity to the bourbon without overpowering it. The Calvados influence is detectable, subtle, and delicious.  Lovely addition to the Blood Oath family!

Rating: Stands Out

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Woodford Reserve Bourbon Personal Selection

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Personal Selection
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Personally Selected By Discount Drinks Etc. #1
Selection Date: 02/19/2020

45.2% ABV
$46
Website
Woodford Reserve Personal Selection Bourbon

What the Distillery Says

WOODFORD RESERVE BOURBON PERSONAL SELECTION
Because each barrel matures at its own rate, they take on a character of their own. So you’ll taste several as you craft your own two barrel batch. Then we’ll bottle your selections, complete with personalized labels. It’s Craft Bourbon, and you’re one of its craftsmen.

Here’s what you’ll receive:

180 1 Liter bottles of your selected bourbon, offered in personalized, individually labeled bottles bearing your name
Personalized barrelhead (upon request)
Personalized barrel (upon request)
A private tour of the distillery and lunch with tasting group
Your name or company name on display at the Distillery

What Gary Says

Nose:  Caramel, charred oak, cigar paper, orange zest, cinnamon, hint of milk chocolate.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel, sweet caramel, vanilla, allspice, cinnamon, toffee, citrus with a hint of anise.
Finish:  Moderately long and drying with cinnamon and toffee.
Comments:  A solid bourbon overall; not too sweet, not too spicy. Woodford Reserve hasn’t been one of my favorites, and not because it is objectionable – but I suppose that it is priced as a premium and doesn’t stand out enough to me. I hadn’t had regular Woodford Reserve in a while, so I picked some up in order to bump this against that in a blind side-by-side, and I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. Note that the ‘Personal Selection’ isn’t a single barrel program, but the next smallest batch size of two barrels – so I had hopes that this might be more different. Maybe if this was higher proof it would stand out more from the standard offering, although again – nothing objectionable with this. Other selections might vary more from the standard depending upon who does the selection.

Rating: Stands Out

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Benchmark Bonded Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Benchmark Bonded
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

50% ABV
$20-$23
Website
Benchmark Bonded Bourbon Whiskey

What the Distillery Says

The Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897 set strict standards for bonded whiskey. This 100 proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey aged four years to meet those standards. Enjoy the rich flavor and long smooth finish.

TASTING NOTES
A nose of citrus and honey follows through on the palate, with a touch of light oak, caramel, and vanilla.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Burnt caramel, charred oak, vanilla and tobacco.
Palate:  Vanilla, caramel, oak, cinnamon, pepper, hints of orange bitters and anise.
Finish:  Short and drying with pepper, oak and vanilla.
Comments:  I’m always happy to see more bonded offerings in the bourbon aisle, and this is about what I’d expect. Not objectionable, but also not special – and a tad sharp. Even a bit of water didn’t really do much to tamp the edges. As this is from Buffalo Trace’s mashbill 1 (shared with Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Stagg and others) which has less rye than their mashbill 2, I assume this is aged pretty high up. In a blind side-by-side-by-side against Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch (which is actually $1.5 less) and Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond ($5 less), I liked this the least of the three – finding it just too cutting/sharp and not having as much going on.

Rating: Average

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Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch

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Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

45% ABV
$20
Website
Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch

What the Distillery Says

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch honors the year that Evan Williams founded Kentucky’s First Distillery. Pulled from fewer than 300 barrels, this extra-aged small Batch Bourbon won the 2019 Consumers’ 2019 SIP Award.

Proof: 90 Proof
Age: 6-8 Years Old

Tasting Notes
Color: Brilliant honey
Aroma: Oaky vanilla, sautéed butter, and sweet corn
Taste: Semi-sweet, oaky, and honeyed
Finish: Lean, off-dry, and regal

What Gary Says

Nose:  Salted caramel, vanilla, richhouse mustiness with a hint of cocoa.
Palate:  Sweet vanilla, caramel, honey, bit of clove and cinnamon with subtle mint.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with oak, caramel and bitter chocolate.
Comments:  One of the first dusty bourbons I ever had the good fortune to buy was the 10 year age stated Evan Williams 1783.  From what I recall from that, it had quite a bit more mint than this – although it would have been pre-fire Heaven Hill – so entirely different distillate. This is not that whiskey. When I first tried this, I thought it was quite nice – a solid albeit, sweet bourbon. It got me thinking how it might compare to Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond (which is a few dollar cheaper, but higher ABV).  In a blind side-by-side-by-side (which included Benchmark Bonded), this was very similar/close to the Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. On the nose, they were incredibly similar, with this having just a touch more oak, and on the palate, this had a bit more spice – although these differences were subtle.  I actually preferred the BIB over this by a hair, but both were quite nice – and liked both more than the Benchmark Bonded (which was the most expense in that three-way tasting).

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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Barrell Bourbon Batch 032

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Barrell Bourbon Batch 032

57.67% ABV
$90
Website
Barrell Bourbon Batch 032
We would like to thank Barrell Craft Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Blender Says

Batch 032 began with a balance of two sets of barrels: a selection of 5 and 6-year-old barrels with a creamy and tropical profile and a selection of 6, 7 and 10-year-old barrels vatted for their complex, old, woody character. These two sets of barrels were slowly blended over three months. A small group of spice driven 7-year-old barrels with notes of cinnamon toast, coffee bean and chocolate were then carefully added to complete the blend. The result is a decadent and rich bourbon with layers of spice and nuttiness.

  • A blend of straight Bourbon Whiskeys
  • Distilled and aged in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana
  • Selection of 5, 6, 7, and 10-year-old barrels
  • Aged in American white oak barrels
  • Bottled in Kentucky
  • 115.34 proof cask strength bottling

FLAVOR NOTES
Focused squarely on fresh oak and grassy spirit, the aroma calls to mind chopping wood in the yard on a late summer’s morning. The palate is a similarly simple pleasure until a splash of water opens it up to reveal a massively textured whiskey: rich, and oily, it’s a trait that’s often described as “Kentucky chew.”

​Neat
Appearance: Tawny.
Nose: A wildflower meadow showing dandelion, nasturtium, and fennel. The floral qualities are intense and concentrated. Late summer fruits round out the profile, among them Rainier cherry, watermelon, and crushed apple. It all integrates seamlessly with aromas of fresh oak, cedar, and applewood, with just a hint of char. The overall impression is that of splitting wood out in the yard when the trees are laden with fruit and the flowers haven’t yet begun to fade.
Palate: Cinnamon rolls arrive with rich, buttery brioche dough, gooey caramel, and a spicy kick of cinnamon. The spice quickly expands to include wasabi and ginger. It’s underpinned by a savory undertone of boiled peanuts, and French butter.
Finish: Quite crisp, with an initial burst of sea spray and lemonade. These fade to reveal lingering notes of raspberry eau-de-vie and pastis.
With a few drops of spring water
Dilution wedges the concentrated floral notes further apart to reveal a whole new level of complexity. Lavender, lemon verbena, and pawpaw fill out the meadow. The palate transforms, with sugars and oils combining with fine tannin, light astringency, and spicy black peppercorn to create a massive, chewy mouthfeel. The finish, meanwhile, is like walking into an old spice shop with the commingled flavors of bitter orange peel, fennel-seed, and turmeric.

What Gary Says

Nose: Caramel, worn book leather, chocolate, cherries, fresh pancakes with brown sugar and melted butter, soft oak and cedar.
Palate: Thick and viscous mouthfeel, caramel drizzled pancakes, cinnamon, nutty with a hint of clove.
Finish: Moderately long, drying with chocolate, honey, cloves and pepper.
Comments: Another really great blend from the folks at Barrell Craft Spirits. I’ve yet to try one I didn’t like. Intense, complex, beautifully balanced and completely delicious! This thickens up nicely with some water, while maintaining the robust flavors. We usually see complexity with age, but this for me was every bit as complex as some of the prior releases that contained 15 and 16 year old barrels – which is a tribute to the craft of finding barrels that complement each other well.

Rating: Must Try

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