Heavy red fruits | Brown sugar | Vanilla | Oak | Aged sherry | Light strawberry shortcake | Plump raisin | Sherry influence 

Shriveled raisin | Red fruits | Brown sugar | Vanilla bean | Dry charred oak | Leather | White peppercorn  

Black peppercorn | Flash of cocoa bean | Rye spice | Dry oak | Leather | Dry sherry | Lingering dry heat 

Oaklore Distilling Co. was founded by neighbors Tom Bogan and Matt Simpkins. What started out as discovering a shared love for whiskey while walking their children to elementary school evolved into a full-time distillery in Matthews, North Carolina. Eventually, the pair picked up Travis Masters to round out their partnership. The company currently does not distill, instead sourcing whiskey from Jackson Purchase Distillery in Kentucky and Southern Distilling in North Carolina. The company ages their whiskey in North Carolina’s Piedmont area, which they state “is an ideal climate, particularly when it comes to barrel aging.”

Their latest Story Series release sees the company focusing on another wine finished whiskey. Following up their Port Finished Rye, the company focuses on bourbon and sherry for this release. To create it, Bogan and Simpkins take their standard Oaklore Four Grain Bourbon and finish it in Spanish Oloroso sherry barrels for an additional 12 - 18 months. 

Oaklore Story Series: Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished Four Grain Bourbon produces a really well integrated sip. The sherry barrel finish is instantly noticeable as the bourbon starts with an aroma of heavy red fruits, brown sugar, oak, plump raisin, and aged sherry. The bourbon begins its transition from juicy to dry at the midpoint as plump raisins transition to shriveled ones. Red fruits and brown sugar are still notable, but dry charred oak and leather begin to push back in earnest. By the time the finish rolls around, the flavor notes focus on more spice, dry oak, and leather, along with a noticeable dry sherry note that leads to a lingering dry heat.

Finished bourbons, especially wine-finished bourbons, have flooded the market over the years. While this latest Oaklore Story Series can’t compete on price, it can compete on integration of its finishing barrel within the overall sip. The company manages to pull forward a nice amount of sherry influence that sherry lovers will be pleased to see, while still also pulling out prominent base bourbon notes. While I didn’t find the standard Oaklore Four Grain Bourbon to be memorable, adding an extended finish in sherry casks was just the trick to make this Oaklore release stand out.