Blood Oath Pact 4 (2018) Review

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Blood Oath has always lived in that strange in-between space of trying to be a premium Kentucky bourbon that’s also finished in a different cask every year. Other brands (Yellowstone comes to mind) have struggled with enthusiasts accepting the hype for releases like this. I know I can only offer some conjecture to this opinion, but my friends in the whiskeyverse don’t ever really talk about Blood Oath just like they don’t talk about Yellowstone LE’s. If they did, it would be to remark about the first releases back when they were new and edgy.

Blood Oath (and Yellowstone, you’ll hear me keep referencing them in this review, too) has tired to maintain their edge by taking a chance on which finishing cask treatment will be popular for the upcoming year. For Pact 4 (2018), they chose to hit the pause button on wine or spirits casks and concentrate on a toasted barrel finish instead. Toasted barrels had been slowly gaining momentum at that point and would go on to explode over the next 4 years. I believe they’re slowly coming down in hype (and popularity) at the time of this writing.

In hindsight, Pact 4 also feels like a transitional bottle. It arrived the same spring Lux Row opened their new distillery grounds to the public. This was momentous because it was the first time in Luxco’s long history as a non-distilling producer where they actually owned a true brick-and-mortar distiller. Also, unlike later Pacts that chased more experimental finishes like rum, cognac, sherry, and even tequila – this one is a pure study in oak.

Blood Oath Pact 4 Makeup

What we have in Pact 4 is three different batches of bourbon (sourced from Heaven Hill) that made up this blend. But as with every Pact, the finish only touched one part of the blend. In this case it was the 9-year-old bourbon component. Then it was married with 10- and 12-year-old Kentucky straight bourbons. Doing it this way subtly helps keep the flavor influence noticeable but not overwhelming.

Doing this review in 2025 offers the ability to see that Pact 4 was kind of a precursor (whether planned or not) to Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel which also used bourbons from around 9 to 12 years old and finished them in toasted barrels. Both are also relatively close in proof, too. The Elijah Craig is bottled at 94 proof (there is also a barrel proof example available) while the Blood Oath’s was bottled at 98.6 – just as it always is (the temperature of blood, oooOOOOooo).

The packaging presentation matched the theme: the now-signature wooden display box which the first release didn’t have – was now standard. This version came in a box that was stained to mimic the color of toasted staves. The label carried John Rempe’s signature and the cork was natural, not synthetic. That cork looks cool but kind of sucks. It’s known to leak sporadically (if a little bit of pressure is applied to one side) and doesn’t take to plastic safety seals well. It’s also the same cork that was used in Hochstadter’s 16 year old Rye Whiskey where it had the same problems.

Speaking of John Rempe, I don’t talk about him nearly as much as I should in reviews. He’s the man behind every Blood Oath release and isn’t your typical whiskey-4-life kind of Master Distiller. He’s a Certified Food Scientist with a background in quality control and R&D. He joined Luxco in 1998 and gradually took the reins as master blender. His decision to stick with 98.6 proof every year is deliberate – it’s meant to keep the line approachable and seems to be just about right in letting the finishing casks shine. It’s also great for the marketing department who want some relevance to the product name.

Pact #4 was priced at $99, which the series still remains, more-or-less, to this day. 36,000 bottles were released for the 2018 release (which is also just about where it is these days as well), but I bet you’d find it hard to see anyone selling this batch on the secondary market today. Is there a reason for that? I aim to find out. I sampled this one neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Sweet caramel crème and seasoned oak open the door, followed by toasted vanilla and milk chocolate. A little orange oil and baking spice sit in the background, framing the sweeter scents.

Palate: Medium-bodied, leaning silky rather than heavy. Honey and caramel with cinnamon-laced oak. The toasted component adds a gentle marshmallow note just like I would expect it to. Cocoa nib bitterness and a touch of citrus peel give more depth and balance.

Finish: Warming spice rolls out first, then it eases into vanilla, caramel and toasted oak. A faint buttery/marshmallow-y note from the finish lingers briefly before fading.

Score: 7.8/10

This is a well-rounded, nicely nuanced bourbon that doesn’t get too carried away with the vanilla/marshmallow notes like – say – a Michter’s Toasted Barrel Bourbon does. The only downside about a toasted barrel finish with Heaven Hill distillate is that I find Heaven Hill’s distillate already leans towards feeling like it has flavors and scents that come from the barrel influence. What I mean by that is Heaven Hill’s bourbon is fairly simple in terms of what it offers – regardless of the product it’s put into. So it’s always going to taste like caramel, vanilla, cinnamon and oak. Adding the influence of a toasted barrel doesn’t bring too much new to the finish like a wine cask would. So if you like to play it safe, toasted barrel finishes for Heaven Hill distillate could be right up your alley.

Final Thoughts

Blood Oath has always been a blender’s playground in terms of offering a fixed proof, a rotating set of older bourbons and a different finish each year. Pact No. 4 nails its concept and maybe was the inspiration for Heaven Hill to take the chance on Elijah Craig Toasted. The toasted oak influence is there from start to finish, but it’s never heavy-handed. For those who like the sweeter, confectionary side of double-oak bourbons but still want the core profile to read “bourbon” first, this one does it well. But unless you’re trying to build a vertical collection of all the Blood Oaths, you might be better served to just buy a bottle of Elijah Craig Toasted instead.