Oak & Oscar’s New Limited Edition is the Perfect Match for Bourbon Lovers

If you’ve met Chase Fancher, founder of Oak & Oscar, you probably know that he’s something of a bourbon enthusiast. I’m not saying you’ll be plied with the stuff if you come hang out at his booth at a Windup, but I’m not saying that’s definitively off the table, either. So it wasn’t a huge surprise when news came across the transom that Oak & Oscar’s latest limited edition is a thoughtful collaboration with FEW Spirits, whose founder and master distiller Paul Hletko is a personal friend of Chase’s. The new watch, a variation on Oak & Oscar’s popular Olmsted, the brand’s 38mm field watch, has plenty of little Easter eggs for bourbon lovers, but is also just a great looking execution of what has become a signature referenced. 

Those Easter eggs are threefold. First, the dial the color of the Olmsted FEW is a dark salmon tone lifted directly from FEW’s own color palette. It should be immediately recognizable to fans of the FEW spirits, but is also an altogether appealing shade in its own right, and represents Oak & Oscar’s first attempt at a salmon dial, a color that has taken off in popularity (and proven to be highly versatile in a huge variety of watches) over the last few years. Second, and this is somewhat standard on these types of collaborations, the FEW logo is displayed near the 6:00 position. Besides the FEW and Oak & Oscar branding, the dial is quite clean, without any excess text, and lets the color shine (but, not literally, because it’s a matte finish). As with many other Oak & Oscar watches, the dial here is of the sandwich variety, adding both inherent depth and legibility to the equation. 

The third design flourish though is what really makes this watch special and unique. On the caseback you’ll find a wooden coin that has been meticulously crafted from an oak bourbon barrel used to age the bourbon that was selected for this limited edition. The coin itself is a gorgeous work of handcraft, made by a local, Chicago area woodworker who broke the barrel down and was able to create 50 wooden discs with Oak & Oscar’s “Make No Little Plans” motto to commemorate the release. 

But wait, there’s more. Yes, as you likely inferred from the whole matter of bourbon being selected for this release as explained above, each Olmsted FEW will be shipped with a bottle of FEW’s Bottled in Bond, straight from the batch Chase chose for this LE. The idea is that as you’re wearing the watch, you can sip on the bourbon that was aged in the barrel that the coin in the caseback was made from. Not a bad bit of synergy between watch and bourbon brands. Of course, said bourbon can only be shipped to customers over the age of 21 who reside in places where they are legally allowed to receive a bottle.  

The Olmsted FEW is a limited edition of 50 pieces, and is available right now via the Oak & Oscar website. The retail price is $1,850. Oak & Oscar