Review

Blood Oath Pact No. 7

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Blood Oath Pact No. 7 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Finished in Sauternes casks

49.3% ABV
$100
Website
Blood Oath Pact 7
We would like to thank Luxco and BYRNE PR for sending us samples to review.

What the Blender Says

Lux Row Distillers is launching Blood Oath Pact 7 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Finished in Sauternes casks, Pact 7 is the latest in a series of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey blends created by Lux Row Master Distiller John Rempe. Available at retail starting mid-April, Blood Oath Pact 7 has a limited allocation of just over 17,000 cases at a suggested retail price
of $99.99 per bottle.

In a blend only known to Rempe, Blood Oath Pact 7 features a combination of three Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys: a 14-year ryed bourbon, an 8-year ryed bourbon and an 8-year ryed bourbon
finished in Sauternes casks. Sauternes is a sweet white wine from the small town of Sauternes in the Bordeaux region of France.

“Finishing in a Sauternes cask brings additional tasting notes and flavor to the bourbon,” said Rempe. “In the case of Pact 7, expect a nose of caramel, oak and spice with flavor notes of apricots, honey and peaches. The balance of sweetness and spice is what sets this bourbon apart.”

The Blood Oath concept was created in 2014 by Rempe, who had an idea to make an exceptional blend of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey using three unique bourbons. He named the series Blood Oath, because he vows to be the only one who knows where these whiskeys have come from. He also promises to make the best bourbon for the bourbon connoisseur with each Pact.

“Creating an extraordinary and unique blend of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys is at the heart of the Blood Oath series,” said Rempe. “Pact 7 continues this tradition, and the result is a secret I can’t wait to share with bourbon lovers.”

TASTING NOTES
AROMA: Caramel and strong oak, backed up with hints of honey.
PALATE: Caramel and oak.
FINISH: Apricots, honey, and peaches.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Caramel, oak, baking spices, fall leaves, notes of tropical fruit, mango, dried candied pineapple, a hint of ginger.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel with a fruity sweetness, mangos, apricots, peaches, caramel, honey, bit of cinnamon, pepper spice and a hint of anise.
Finish:  Moderately long, slightly drying with pepper, honey and apricot jam.
Comments:  Delightful dram, and a fine example of finishing done well. Compliments the bourbon nicely without overpowering it. I thought some water tamped the highlights, but thankfully it doesn’t need it (so I’d skip that). Each of the Blood Oath pacts I’ve had the pleasure to try have been nicely done, and this is no exception.

Rating: Stands Out

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Stellum Rye

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

Stellum Rye
Cask Strength Blend of Straight Rye Whiskies

58.12% ABV
$55
Website
Stellum Rye
We would like to thank Stellum Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Blender Says

Stellum Spirits is a new national brand created and produced by Barrel Craft Spirits® (BCS). Please see this release for additional details!

The identity of Stellum Rye is rooted in a tried and true 95% Rye Indiana mash bill. To enhance this classic style, we incorporate small amounts more barley-forward rye and choice barrels from both Kentucky and Tennessee. This brings a full, round mouthfeel and flashes of buttery sweetness to an otherwise spicy and tightly focused Rye Whiskey.

TASTING NOTES
Appearance: Deep copper.
Nose: Stewed apples, peaches, and pears dominate the initial nose, along with an undertone of baking spices. Nutmeg and clove provide a counterbalance to the sweet fruits, while a light mint and licorice note bring further depth to the aroma.
Palate: Aniseed, cardamom, and coriander wake up your palate with an intense spice punch. Notes of lemon peel and tangerine coming from the rye grain provide a nice citrus component to the overall spiciness. As the whiskey breathes in the glass, fresh green apples and spearmint arise, which offers just enough of a sweet component to engage all your taste buds.
Finish: Star anise, white pepper, and mint linger on the palate before fading into a honey-sweetened jasmine green tea.

With the Addition of Water: The citrus notes on the palate become more pronounced with candied lemon and orange peels, all supported by a mint simple syrup like you would find in a derby julep.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Fruity with baked apples, pears, citrus notes with baking spices and herbs, fresh dill, mint, hint of anise and lemongrass.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel, sweet spicy notes with citrus fruit, cracked pepper, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, apple, chilis with honey and orange.
Finish:  Moderately long and damp with rye spice, mint, honey and pepper.
Comments:  Another really solid blend. I’m a fan of cask strength rye, and this is a really lovely example of the spirit. Nothing against ‘barely legal’ rye whiskey, with only 51% rye in the mashbill – as I definitely enjoy that too. But that ultra-high rye mashbill gives some nice herbal spice notes, while trading off some of the caramel/vanilla sweetness. I decided to try this in a blind tasting against Pikesville Rye, which is a 6 yr old straight rye bottled at 55% ABV (and similarly priced). The two are distinctly different, and both great examples of a well made rye. I couldn’t pick a favorite because I really like what they both have to offer! If you’re a fan of high-rye rye, this is definitely one I’d urge you to try.

Rating: Must Try

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Stellum Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Stellum Bourbon
Cask Strength Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskies

57.49% ABV
$55
Website
Stellum Bourbon
We would like to thank Stellum Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Blender Says

Stellum Spirits is a new national brand created and produced by Barrell Craft Spirits® (BCS). Please see this release for additional details!

Stellum Spirits, a new national brand created to celebrate the modern-day whiskey drinker, today officially launched its inaugural flagship offerings, including bourbon (blue label), rye (green label), and single barrels, which are all bottled at cask strength. By embracing the vitality of American whiskey today, Stellum is focused on creating the next generation of classic whiskeys that include all facets of the American story in its vision.

Stellum Bourbon finds its flavor in the tension of three Indiana Bourbon mash bills, two of which are high-rye, with the third being almost exclusively corn. Older barrels from both Kentucky and Tennessee are folded in slowly, through a multi-step blending process. This brings added layers of depth and complexity, ultimately allowing us to round out a uniquely Stellum flavor profile.

TASTING NOTES
Appearance: Amber gold.
Nose: Intense clove and allspice immediately jump out of the glass, supported by creamy macadamia nuts and light tobacco. As the whiskey opens up, sweet aromas of honeysuckle, green apple, and nectarine begin to show, rounded off by toasted rye and oak.
Palate: The tip of your tongue is met with a hint of vanilla, marshmallow, and cotton candy. The whiskey quickly transforms as it spreads across your tongue, revealing spicy notes of black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon baked apples. The spice is supported by tart underripe blackberry and apricot that contrasts perfectly against the initial sweetness.
Finish: The spiciness of the palate carries over into the finish with candied ginger and more black pepper before slowly fading into a syrupy sweet honey.

With the Addition of Water: The strong pepper notes are more subdued, allowing for sweet cinnamon streusel and stewed apples to come to the forefront of the palate.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Caramel, oak, orange zest, vitamins, cinnamon and clove.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel, vanilla, bit of milk chocolate, baking spices including clove, nutmeg and cinnamon followed by cracked black pepper and tart berries.
Finish:  Moderately long and drying with berries and pepper with honey.
Comments:  Wow! The nose on this was nice, but was a bit deceptive in that I wasn’t expecting the intensity and richness that the palate delivered. Having tried several products from the folks at Barrell Craft Spirits who are behind Stellum Spirits, I shouldn’t have been surprised. The Dickel notes are present but not prominent on the nose, and I found the palate on this to be comparable to some of their Barrell Bourbon releases. A bit of water brings out some caramel corn on the nose, and tamps the edges of the palate – although it doesn’t need water in my opinion. Given the trend in prices of premium brands and labels in recent years, I found this priced incredibly reasonably. I hope that they’re able to keep this profile fairly consistent – although if so they’ll probably struggle to keep up with demand!

Rating: Must Try/Must Buy

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The Singleton of Dufftown 15 Yr

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / ,

The Singleton of Dufftown 15 Yr
Single Malt Scotch Whisky

40% ABV
$70
Website (sort of)
The Singleton of Dufftown 15 year old

What the Bottle* Says

Fruity Decadence
Vibrantly fruity, chocolatey and subtly spiced.

Indulge in this deeply delectable 15 Year Old. Here we’ve got whisky from both refill ex-Bourbon casks, known for imparting a kiss of sumptuous vanilla, and Pedro Ximenez Oloroso seasoned casks, which infuse some fruity vibrancy into the spirit. There’s lots to explore in this exciting dram. With zesty coriander, zingy pepper, decadent chocolate and creamy coffee, this is a tasty treasure trove to delight in.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Sweet and savory, with dark fruit notes of raisins and plums, honey and oak with herbal notes of fresh oregano and tobacco.
Palate:  Thin but sweet, lightly fruity with pears, apples and hints of plum, vanilla and caramel with a subtle spice.
Finish:  Moderately long with fruity malt notes and a bit of oak.
Comments:  A very pleasant, light and fruity dram. Wish it was higher proof, as it wasn’t off-putting but was a tad boring? One I enjoyed nosing more than sipping, as there was more depth going on with the nose where the palate thinned out.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

 

* A rant: I get that some smaller producers don’t have well organized web-sites, or don’t always keep them up. Diageo isn’t a small company. Why in the hell their ‘Singleton’ site makes zero mention of the Dufftown releases is beyond me. I assumed perhaps this was discontinued, but it is fairly widely available on the other side of the pond. Just to get the details on the bottle required a fair amount of searching for label images because Diageo apparently doesn’t want you to be able to find squat on this bottle. I went so far as to connect via VPN to a UK server to ensure they weren’t trying to limit information where the product might not be available – nothing. For the most part, going to a distiller/producer/blender’s site and getting the details to populate these reviews is pretty straight forward. Every once in it seems like they really don’t want you to know of a bottle’s existence.

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Booker’s 2021-01 “Donohoe’s Batch”

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Booker’s “Donohoe’s Batch” Batch 2021-01
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

6 Years, 11 Months, 4 Days
62.65% ABV
$90
Website
Bookers 2021-01 Donohoes Batch
We would like to thank Beam Suntory and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says:

“The first release of the Booker’s® Bourbon 2021 Collection is Booker’s Batch 2021-01 ‘Donohoe’s Batch.’ This batch is named in honor of retired Jim Beam employee Mike Donohoe who was also a close friend to my dad, Booker Noe. Without Mike, Booker’s Bourbon wouldn’t exist today.

In 1982, Mike joined the Jim Beam Company as a sales manager in Chicago – a ‘suit’ as Dad would say – after retiring from a seven-year career in the NFL. Mike first met Dad on a company trip to Kentucky. After taking a liking to Mike, Dad invited him to his office for a glass of bourbon. It was unlike any Jim Beam Bourbon he had tasted before. Booker let Mike in on his secret – he’d been playing with something different, and he’d share a bit of it with friends from time to time.

A few years later, Mike approached Booker with the idea to give bottles of his special stash as holiday gifts to their most important distributors and industry partners. With little time and almost no budget, Booker sourced wine bottles from a warehouse in Bardstown and wrote the labels himself to get the job done. Based on the hundreds of letters they received raving about that uncut, unfiltered whiskey, it’s safe to say the rest is Booker’s Bourbon history.

Dad always had the final say when it came to his Booker’s, but he trusted Mike to help him build it into the brand that it is today. ‘Mike gets it,’ he used to say. Now, I’m proud to honor Mike with a batch of his own.”

— Fred Noe, Beam Family 7th Generation Master Distiller

TASTING NOTES
COLOR: Our darkest and deepest amber and henna color.
TASTE: Deep and complex flavors of vanilla, nuts and oak.
AROMA: Robust vanilla and caramel notes; slightly smoky.
FINISH: Long and full; perfect for easygoing sipping.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich caramel and vanilla, oak with baking spices, cocoa and a hint of roasted peanuts.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel with caramel, dark chocolate, pepper spice with cinnamon, orange zest, peanut butter and a bit of clove.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with cocoa, oak and spice notes.
Comments:  Another really solid Booker’s.  Thinking of some recent batches, this is right there with most – maybe a bit more on the spicy side than the sweet (I don’t recall getting clove often, but this has a bit of a sharper/spicy edge). Takes water well, and continues the streak of “hadn’t met a Booker’s I didn’t like!” .

Rating: Stands Out

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