Blood Oath Pact 11 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Review

 

I don't know if kids do this anymore, but back in the day (wow, does that make me sound old!), if you made a solemn promise, you committed a blood oath. You even called yourselves blood brothers. A blood oath is a pact committed by each person involved by cutting themselves, then shaking hands, and "blending" the blood between the two (or more).

 

Truth be told, I'm pretty squeamish and never participated in a blood oath. I'm confident there's not enough whiskey that would convince me a blood oath was a good idea. Well, at least not a traditional blood oath.

 

A handful of annual-release whiskeys out there have me longing to see what the next brings. I don’t mean the standard-bearers out there that’s pretty much the same whiskey year after year, just offered at varying proofs. Instead, I’m talking about the ones you never know what to expect because something different is done each time.

 

One such whiskey is Blood Oath Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Lux Row Distillers produces this whiskey under the creative mind of Master Distiller and Master Blender John Rempe. Each release is called a Pact. The 2025 version is Pact 11 and was finished in Añejo Tequila casks. I’ve reviewed most Pacts, and no two are even close to alike.

 

“Añejo Tequila has delicious and rich notes due to its aging in Bourbon barrels. By utilizing the Añejo barrels for this year’s Pact 11, we brought our Bourbon full circle while picking up all of the best attributes and flavor notes along the way.” – John Rempe

 

While this whiskey carries no age statement, Rempe does disclose its components are a 14-year traditional, a 10-year wheater, and a 7-year traditional Bourbon. The latter is the one exposed to the Añejo Tequila casks. After blending, the concoction is bottled at 98.6°. Every Pact is packaged at that particular proof – that’s the temperature of human blood!

 

There are 51,000 bottles, of which 1400 will be held back for a future Trilogy release. Each 750mL bottle has a suggested minimum price of $129.99 and will be available at the distillery and nationwide beginning April 26^th.

 

Before I #DrinkCurious and tell you how it smells and tastes, I need to get two things out of the way:  First, I am not a fan of Tequila. Second, Lux Row Distillers sent me a sample of Pact 11 in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review, and I’m grateful for this opportunity.

 

Appearance: I poured this Bourbon into my Glencairn glass to explore neat. Inside, the liquid was brassy; it formed a thin rim with medium, crazed, super-slow tears.

 

Nose: At first, there was an aroma of earthy oak. I smelled smoky vanilla, cherries, toffee, and leather from there. Pulling the air into my mouth exposed me to agave.

 

Palate: The incredibly creamy texture introduced my palate to smoky vanilla, lime zest, and nutmeg notes. The middle featured dark chocolate, leather, and black cherries. I tasted oak spice, tobacco leaf, and agave.

 

Finish: Flavors of oak spice, nutmeg, dark chocolate, black cherries, and old leather stuck in my mouth and throat. As they began to fall off, cinnamon came out of nowhere. The entirety ran for what seemed like forever. I timed it; in reality, it was 2:16, qualifying it as very long but not as long as I would have guessed.  

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Blood Oath Pact 11 drank at or slightly below its stated proof. There was no question that it was potent, yet it wasn’t overpowering. The mouthfeel was mesmerizing; that’s not usually where I get lost while sipping a whiskey. I found myself rushing to get back to that texture!

 

As I stated earlier, I dislike Tequila. Pact 11 had some inklings of it, but it served as complimentary notes versus a primary one. There was really nothing not to enjoy about this Bourbon. It is a drinking experience worth engaging in.

 

Is it pricey? Yes. With that being said, and strange as it may sound, this may be my favorite Blood Oath release yet – and I’ve had eight of them. I’m crowning it with my Bottle rating. Cheers!

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.