Oloroso sherry, a dry, fruity fortified wine—and in Spain, a legal category—is aged, like bourbon, in new oak barrels. The used barrels, like ex-bourbon barrels, have long been sent north to house Scotch and Irish whiskies. Increasingly, with the growth of craft whiskey in the States, that process of using ex-sherry casks for aging or finishing is now being replicated by American distillers.

Middle West Spirits in Columbus, Ohio, which makes a range of vodkas and whiskeys, recently started distributing their oloroso-aged whiskey, OYO Oloroso Wheat Whiskey, outside their home state. Like their other spirits, it’s bottled under the…