Tasting Notes: OYO Sherry Cask Finished Bourbon

This post sponsored by the Glencairn Whisky Glass

This Bourbon is made by Middle West Spirits of Columbus, Ohio. I was first introduced to their Bourbon several years ago by my friend, John Lipman. He had a bottle of their Bourbon and poured ne a drink. I remember it as being very young but a solid Bourbon that I expected to age well. My first impression was correct. This Bourbon is a five-year-old wheated Bourbon made by Middle West Spirits, and then finished in a sherry cask. I respect the distiller at Middle West Spirits even though I have never visited the distillery or met their team. They seem to understand that when you finish a whiskey, the finishing flavor should compliment, not dominate the whiskey flavors. I am always suspect when the finishing flavor is stronger than the whiskey flavor. It makes me think that the whiskey was mediocre and needed to be covered up.

OYO Sherry Cask Finished Bourbon

Proof: 86.5

Age: 5 Years Old

Nose: Very fruity. You can smell the raisins, plums and dates that probably come from the sherry as much as from the Bourbon. There is vanilla, oak and a hint of spice. It is very brandy-like on the nose.

Taste: Fruit forward with raisins and dates with lots of caramel and milk chocolate with just a hint of oak. When tasted with a dried cranberry, the caramel and chocolate come forward and the fruit moves to the background. When tasted with a pecan, the raisins and dates come forward with lots of oak and pepper spice with the sweeter caramel and chocolate moving to the background.

Finish: Medium long. It starts very fruity but dries out with oak and a hint of spice. The cranberry makes the finish very sweet with chocolate lingering into a little oak dryness. The pecan made the finish very long with lots of oak and pepper spice.

I am pairing this Bourbon with a Nat Sherman Schrader cigar. This cigar was designed to pair with wine and I anticipated that the fruitiness of this Bourbon would go well with the rich tobacco, vanilla, cedar spice and hint of hay in the cigar smoke. The Bourbon added sweetness to the smoke with strong vanilla and baking spices. The smoke brought out cherry notes and dark chocolate in the Bourbon. I like it. If I had an unlimited supply of these cigars, I could do this pairing every day.