Moving to Charlotte from Chicago meant a step down in cocktails (at the time), but a step up in moonshine. Thankfully, craft whiskey is having it’s day in the southern sun, too. Look no further than the stellar spirits being put out by Oaklore Distilling.
Lauren and I popped by the Oaklore distillery to do a little sampling around this time last year. They’d just dropped the latest in their Story Series, a collection of annual one-offs that give them free reign to experiment outside of flagship products.
The bottle was dubbed Bloody Butcher Corn, which at the time I had no idea was a real thing. It makes for a very unique whiskey though, with a walnut/pecan nuttiness that you don’t typically find. They rolled it out again this year, but admittedly didn’t make my way over to grab a bottle and I regret they might all be gone now.
While the Story Series is always intriguing, Oaklore’s permanent rotation is a fine fallback. The Four Grain Bourbon is a blend of 4 to 6-year-old barrels that pulls just the right amount of sweetness through every step of the experience. It’s great for sipping, and while I haven’t tried it, it feels like it has Old Fashioned written all over it.
For fans of something a little less sweet, the North Carolina Straight Rye makes for a great cocktail. It’s aged more than 6 years, and the extra maturity pays off with a spiciness that’s more integrated than a lot of rye whiskeys. It might be mental mind games, but it feels like that’s probably why it played so well when I used it in a Sazerac.
If whiskey isn’t your jam, Oaklore also makes solid vodka, rum, and gin. Gotta keep the doors open somehow while all the whiskey ages!
The small distillery installed a bottling line earlier this year, which while sad for those who arbitrarily think hand bottling and labeling somehow makes the spirit better, should be a boon to those of us who just like to drink whiskey. It increased their production more than 250%, which hopefully means it’ll be easier for the masses to get their hands on a bottle. If nothing else, it’ll help the staff their stop working their fingers to the bone.
