Blood Oath Bourbon Pact No. 8

This makes for my 4th Blood Oath Pact. I felt that the previous release, the Sauternes Cask, was the strongest, and that each one I had (5-7) was notable improvement over the one before it. Calvados cask is an interesting choice—the first I’ve had of that kind. I’m hoping it allows this one to continue the trend. Nose: A strong apple note. Caramel (caramelized apple.) Incredibly potent toasted almond note. Vanilla, toffee, and raisin. Green Apple Jolly Rancher. White grape and white chocolate. Brown sugar. Strawberry jam. Cinnamon Applejack cereal. Torrone (Italian nougat.) Peppercorn. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Another huge caramelized apple note. Raisin, vanilla, and toffee. Almond. Brown sugar. Raisin and strawberry jam. White grape. Vanilla frosting. Cinnamon Applejack cereal. Green Apple Jolly Rancher Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, and oak. Finish: Apple, caramel, vanilla, and toffee. Raisin and grape. Brown sugar. Toasted almond. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Long finish. My notes may betray the experience I actually had. The apple and nut notes were by far the strongest components throughout. The candy sweet notes were plentiful but were mostly secondary and tertiary notes. Regardless, this was an incredibly unique whiskey. Calvados casks made for a fun experiment. 4/5. This ranks 3/4 among the Blood Oath Pacts I’ve tried. This couldn’t touch the Sauternes Cask. And the it’s definitely better than the Rum Cask. It’s about even with the Cognac Cask—I’ll give a slight preference to the latter. Factor in cost—this is $50 more expensive—and it’s a no-brainer. This still hits the mark though. A solid effort from Lux Row and a worthy addition to the Blood Oath line.

The nose is interesting, almost a granny smith apple note with ethanol and earthy grains. The palate is smooth sweet and balanced. There's a caramelized sugar sweetness as well as a smooth vanilla mouth coat leading to a slow building, but not overpowering finish. Not bad at all.

Spicy with vanilla

The cinnamon covered apple that swooned snow white