Dark cherry | Melted chocolate | Cocoa powder | Nougat | Leather | Light Smoke

Milky Way candy bar | Vanilla frosting | Stewed apple | Christmas spices | Vanilla taffy| Raisin | Toasted oak | Creamy mouthfeel | Full-flavored

Allspice | Nougat | Honey | Nutty undertone | Golden raisin | Corn whipped cream

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.”

Released as part of the company’s Story Series, Prohibition Oak Cask Finished Bourbon utilizes a multi-step finishing process. Initially aged for 4 years in new American white oak barrels, the bourbon was then transferred to a second set of new American white oak barrels and aged for an additional 2 years. Oaklore then added staves to this second barrel and stave finished the whiskey for an additional 6-12 months. These staves are where the bourbon derives its name, as they are toasted oak staves that Oaklore states were made from wood harvested and dry-aged since the Prohibition era.

Prohibition Oak Cask Finished Bourbon is quite flavorful – remarkably so considering it’s only 96 proof. This can most likely be attributed to the fact that the bourbon was transferred to a second set of new oak barrels for over 2 years, and then with staves that are approximately a century old for 6-12 months, which is a lot of additional oak influence compared to a standard bourbon that’s simply aged in a single barrel.

The bourbon has a lot going on in a unique yet familiar way. It transitions effortlessly through a range of flavors, starting with dark cherry, melted chocolate, cocoa powder, nougat, leather, and light smoke on the nose. The palate brings a wide range of sweet and savory flavors with a touch of spice, delivered with ample intensity and a satisfyingly creamy mouthfeel. Even more flavors develop in the finish, which ends on an unusual but pleasant lingering corn whipped cream note.

Oaklore Story Series: Prohibition Oak Cask Finished Bourbon is a wildly dynamic, full-flavored bourbon that leans into its double-oaking and stave finishing but manages to avoid coming across over-oaked, instead showcasing a wide range of flavors that somehow all work. Similar to numerous past releases in the Story Series, Prohibition Oak is a unique pour that’s more than worthy of its asking price.