Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish BourbonDetails
Distillery: Oaklore
Type & Region: Bourbon, USA
Alcohol: 47.5%
Composition: 70% corn, 10% rye, 10% wheat, 10% malted barley
Aged: 6 years
Color: 1.7/2.0 on the color scale (burnt umber)
Price: $100
From the company website:
This unique, limited-release Four Grain Bourbon brings together wheat, rye, corn, and barley—all aged and finished to perfection. Using select 5- to 6-year-old barrels from sister distilleries in North Carolina and Kentucky, the bourbon is batched, re-barreled for additional aging (6–8 months), and then finished in Spanish Oloroso Sherry casks for 12–18 months.Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Bourbon overview
If you’re like me and live nowhere near North Carolina, you’ve likely never heard of Oaklore Distilling. So first off, Oaklore was founded around 2017 and is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They distill all sorts of spirits, but you already know that the focus of this review is on their Story Series Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Bourbon.
Creating this bourbon was a real production. The Oaklore team selected already aged 5-6 year old wheated and rye’d bourbons from Kentucky and North Carolina (no idea about the distilleries), blended them together, then let them intermingle for 6-8 months in casks, and then finished them for 12-18 months in Oloroso Sherry casks. Jeez…12-18 months is serious stuff. The sherry cask finish really comes through in the dark color.
This reminds me of the old Bardstown Bourbon Company Sherry Cask Finish bourbon that I actually never got to try…which is unfortunate. I guess my point is that finishes this long are rare, and it takes incredible commitment to finish a whiskey for that long.
If it comes out really bad after all that time…well that sucks. Of course the team monitors the whiskey to make sure it’s getting better, but finishes add more work and complexity to the process. The hope is that it adds meaningful complexity and depth to make it worth it.
Now for a quick rundown on Oloroso Sherry. It’s a Spanish fortified wine (fortified with Brandy) made in Jerez De La Frontera, the southwest part of Spain. I visited there in 2018 and it’s a great place to visit…and I drank a lot of Sherry.
On the spectrum of Sherry, Oloroso leans towards more sweet. It’s not quite Pedro Jimenez intensely sweet, but it’s still quite sweet. Some might consider it to be too sweet so it’s not for everyone, but I personally enjoy it a lot although I don’t drink it often.
With this type of cask finish, you can usually expect added dark cherry, dried dates, honey sweetness, orange, and hints of toasted oak among other things. How much the bourbon ends up absorbing depends on how wet the Sherry casks were when they were filled, the quality of the sherry, and length of the finish among other factors. I’m a fan of finished whiskeys, so I’m excited to try this.
Let’s find out if all that time, effort, and casks paid off in this Oaklore Sherry Cask Finish Bourbon review.
This sample was provided at no cost to me. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Bourbonsmell
I smell dark caramel, toasted and seasoned oak, very dark baked red apple, dark red grape and cherry, cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and wood varnish. This is a very dark, oaky, and spicy bourbon all wrapped up in dark fruit jam. Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask bourbon smells a lot older than it actually is. The dark sweetness, fruitiness, and oak make it feel 10+ years old.
The dark fruit is not as in my face as I thought it would be. In this case, it adds a lot of dark sweetness and fruitiness that feels naturally integrated with the bourbon. The sherry doesn’t feel overpowering or out of place, which would be distracting and take me out of the experience.
The scents are surprisingly full, although they are a bit blobbish and lack some vibrance and shimmeryness that would make it feel more complex and refined. But so far, I like it a lot.
After swirling and about 15 minutes of rest, I smell dense caramel and dried cherry, vanilla buttercream, toasted oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, candied orange peel, roasted coffee, and roasted pecans. The scents come off a little more vibrant this time, but still have a great dark, fruity, woody, and spicy presence.
Oaklore Sherry Cask Bourbon smells great, but the lower end fullness and upper end vibrance / shimmer aren’t all there yet to make it feel complete. But seriously, on scents alone I give Oaklore props for creating a bourbon that’s interesting and mature beyond its years.
Yeah using old bourbon would have been awesome, but this is really well put together.
Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Bourbon taste and aftertaste
I taste dark caramel, dried cherry, vanilla, seasoned oak, cinnamon, clove, roasted coffee, and buttercream. The sherry really comes through with the dark red fruit that is far less prevalent in most unfinished bourbons. The heat is very manageable.
If you couldn’t tell already, the flavors are also very dark, fruity, and oaky, providing very good character and enough depth to make it pass for more like a 12 year old bourbon than a 6 year old one. I’ll admit, it’s an impressive feat…but a well done finish can do that.
There are a few signs that the bourbon is still younger-ish (or at least underproofed) – missing some fuller caramel sweetness, some brightness (could be in the sweetness, fruitiness, and/or spice), and overall deeper flavors. This is still a great start.
With hard “chewing”, I taste dense caramel and dried cherry, vanilla buttercream, baked red apple, toasted oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, mocha, and dark fruit jam. “Chewing” pulls out more dark, sweet, fruity, oaky, and spicy flavors. This has become a very flavorful, round, and varied bourbon that I enjoy drinking and reviewing.
The finish leaves toasted oak, dried cherry, caramel, cinnamon, clove, and candied orange peel. This also could be considered a “Cigar Blend” with all that sweet oak and roastiness.
The oloroso sherry cask finish adds so much dark sweetness, fruitiness, oakiness, and spiciness that dramatically enhance the base bourbon and fill it out in ways that would take another 8-10 years to achieve, or possibly never. It just feels so well balanced and integrated by the Oaklore team. Now I’m really convinced that this drinks like a well made 12 year old bourbon, and one of the better ones at that.
I bet that this would be spectacular at a higher ABV, maybe 55% ABV. But even at a “light” 47.5% ABV (in my opinion of course), this is delicious.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Bourbon rating
I am pleasantly surprised and impressed by Oaklore Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Bourbon. I have to write this again, this easily drinks like a well made 12+ year old bourbon from Indiana or Kentucky. The rebarreling for 6-8 months plus 12-18 months in oloroso casks is Bardstown Bourbon Company-levels of cask finishing, leading to excellent results with an interesting and rewarding bourbon that outperforms its age and ABV.
This is one of the highest compliments that I can give – I think that this is worth buying for $100. The 6 year old bourbon might turn off some people because it seems too young for such a high price, but it’s clear to me that a lot of care and attention went into this. But you know…Oaklore…maybe another 4-5% ABV would have been great.
Regardless, props to Oaklore for making an excellent bourbon. All that hard work paid off. I’m hard to please, yet here I am feeling pleased and excited to drink the rest of the sample I was provided.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
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