Watches and whiskey may not be a natural pairing, but there’s still plenty of crossover between the two product categories. Both are supported by strong enthusiast communities, both are currently experiencing an explosion in popularity that has seen massive inflation on the secondary market for their most hyped products, and both frequently take part in limited-edition collabs. And while we have seen whiskey-themed watches before, I’m not sure we’ve ever seen one as thoughtfully and tastefully done as Oak & Oscar’s new collab with Few Spirits.
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In case you’re unfamiliar with either brand, here’s a quick rundown. Oak & Oscar is a higher-end American microbrand based in Chicago, and it’s one of the pioneers in the space, having been around since 2015. Few Spirits is another Chicagoland company. Founded in 2011 and based in Evanston, IL, it touts itself as a grain-to-glass distillery that makes craft whiskey and gin, with a variety of bourbons and an American single malt being some of its key offerings. Now, the two Midwestern brands have come together for a limited-edition bourbon-themed variant of Oak & Oscar’s Olmsted field watch.
The Oak & Oscar Olmsted Few Edition
At first, the new watch doesn’t appear to be too dissimilar from a typical Olmsted. It’s a Sellita SW300-powered stainless steel field watch in 38mm with a sandwich dial and 100m of water resistance. The only distinguishing features are the color of the dial — a deep salmon that matches the labels on some of Few’s bottles — and the Few logo above six o’clock. But once you turn the watch around, that’s where the magic of this crossover comes into play.
Housed within the caseback is a wooden coin with Oak & Oscar’s slogan (and unofficial Chicago motto) “Make No Little Plans” engraved on it. But this isn’t just some random wood thrown onto a watch to please a hipster like it’s the year 2008. The wood came from an actual Few Spirits bourbon barrel. Not only that, but the barrel from which it came is the same barrel that was hand-selected by the Oak & Oscar team for a single-barrel Bottled in Bond bourbon release. And not only that, but a bottle from that single barrel — the same one living inside the watch — is included as a gift with every Oak & Oscar Olmsted Few Edition watch (provided you’re over 21, of course).
A local brand connection, clever use of materials and free whiskey? This is how you do a proper watch collab, folks.
