Description
The jury is still out on whether bourbon and tequila work well together, but that doesn’t stop producers from trying. Much of it is due to the steady rise in tequila’s popularity (and sales), and bourbon producers hope to ride the wave. This year is already shaping up to feature the most tequila-finished bourbons yet.
Blood Oath No. 11 opens with a dessert-like nose filled with sugary fruits. It is, by far, the whiskey’s best aspect, as it layers on flavors of flan, gold raisin, mango, and honeydew. It’s capped off by orange bitters, reminiscent of what you’d find in an Old Fashioned cocktail. It’s an excellent concoction, but it’s also very un-Bourbon-like in composition.
The palate offers light notes of nutmeg and cinnamon on its onset, before transitioning to flavors of vanilla pudding, honey, and lime zest. The short finish is the whiskey’s simplest part, featuring dry oak notes alongside sugarcane, black currant, and black pepper.
Now in its 11th edition, Blood Oath constantly mixes it up every year and is one of the brand’s hallmark traits. It also means consistency and iteration are non-existent. Pact No. 11 is an approachable pour, and that seems to be by design. Tequila finishing can be overpowering, and Pact No. 11 offers a taste of it rather than being overwhelmed by it. The whiskey’s flavors are light and delicate, lacking much immediate impact. This results in a sip that lacks punch and strives to be an easy sipper. As such, it’s a much less polarizing tequila finished bourbon than we typically get. Most will probably enjoy its sip, and rightfully so, but few will be wowed by it.
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