My favorite Blood Oath to date was the Sauternes Cask release. Like many people, when I think of wine cask-aging, Scotch and even Irish whiskey come to mind before bourbon. But it worked beautifully when Lux Row did it, and since I believe this was similarly-priced, I have high hopes for Jefferson’s take. The Groth Cabernet cask was fantastic, and the Pritchard Hill is good as well, so there’s precedent for it. Let’s see how they did. Nose: Gala apple, grape, cherry, and apple pie. Raisin and cranberry. Jam. Nougat, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. Toasted almond, cashew, and macadamia. Cocoa butter. Rye, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Mint, apple, cherry, and raisin. Honey, caramel, toffee, nougat, milk chocolate, brown sugar, and vanilla. Dried apricot. Orange citrus and light pipe smoke. More toasted almond and macadamia. Heavy black pepper. Clove, nutmeg, and oak. More spice than the nose suggested. Finish: Brown sugar, honey vanilla, caramel, nougat, and milk chocolate. Cocoa. Dried apricot. Ginger snaps. Orange citrus and pipe smoke. Loads of spice. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Moderate length. Nicely executed bourbon. It’s refined, balanced, and elegant. The cask selection brings out the sweet bourbon notes without it venturing remotely near the territory of sickly sweet. I have two gripes. First, the nose was exquisite. The palate was also very good, but didn’t quite measure up to the expectation established with the nose. And at 45% ABV, I’d call the finish “good.” The problem is the price. This cost be $150. The Groth cask, my favorite Jefferson’s release, was only $70. That was discontinued around a decade ago, so let’s ignore that for now and just attribute it to price creep. The Blood Oath Sauternes Finish was only $120, and it was considerably more vibrant and unique and was less watered down. That was a 5 star bourbon, while this was a 4, and I’m docking a quarter star for not quite hitting VFM. Still a very good whiskey in its own right and worth owning if you’re a collector like me. But if you’re judicious in selection-making process, it wouldn’t be a sin to pass on this. 1.5/1/1