Monday, August 3, 2015
Bleeding Out with Blood Oath Bourbon
Luxco is a St. Louis based spirits company that markets a number of spirits, including budget, sourced whiskey, much of it from Heaven Hill. Their bourbon brands include Ezra Brooks (including standard and 12 year old expressions) and the wheated Rebel Yell and Rebel Reserve.
Blood Oath Bourbon is Luxco's attempt to bring a "high end, luxury type bourbon to the market." According to this excellent interview of Luxco's John Rempe by Bourbon & Banter, the company's goal in producing this product was "to bring an innovative and unique tasting experience and bourbon experience to the bourbon connoisseur geared toward the person who really knows what he wants in a bourbon." Er, okay.
The company has said that Blood Oath is a blend of two rye recipe bourbons and one wheat recipe bourbon, presumably a mixture of the bourbons that populate their other offerings. The bourbons in the blend range from 6 to 12 years old.
There's a lot of cheesy atmospherics here including the batches being labeled as "pacts" and a proof of 98.6 (i.e. body temperature) which, according to Rempe, "mixes right in with the blood." Alright, let's do some blood mixing.
Blood Oath Bourbon, Pact 1, 49.3% abv ($90)
The nose is very light with light caramel and grain notes. The palate is also very light with cane sugar and light caramel notes. The finish is candy sweet (sort of like the red candy on candied apples).
This is perfectly decent stuff; it's light and drinkable, but not very complex and hardly a "unique tasting experience." I could recommend it as a pleasing sipper if it were in the $30 range, but I certainly wouldn't pay anywhere near $90 for it. Blood Oath? I'd say it's more of a pinky promise.
Thanks to John Burlowski for the sample.
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7 comments:
I'll stick with Old Ezra. Mellow and tasty at 7 years old and 101 proof for twenty bucks.
Makers Cask Strength, 60 bucks for a 750 bottle. All day over jokers like these guys
I'll stick with real Bourbon from real distillers. The b.s. that these branding people throw around is nauseating. Just say "no".
"...to bring an innovative and unique tasting experience and bourbon experience to the bourbon connoisseur geared toward the person who really knows what he wants in a bourbon."
What? That could mean almost anything! A clue that you are being lied to or conned: When someone is speaking but saying nothing.
Haven't tried the 'new' Blood Oath, and I assume will not, any time soon, at $90/750. I won't denigrate Luxco's offerings; only some of their prices...
Ezra B SB is consistent and very tasty, and the price isn't that out of whack. This one (B.O.) however, sounds like a pretty silly offering for $90. ...But, far be it from me to deride somebody (Mr. Lux) for making a healthy profit... it just will not be at my expense.
Tell the hipsters that it's amazing and tastes as good as Pappy. Please...
I'll gladly tell them that...then I'll tell them to go f*** themselves :-O
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