The oak in the 90's tended to be Red Oak that was bleached and/ or pickled applied finish.

The cerused oak cabinets popular currently are typically white or French oak with white pigment used to highlight the grain.

"Pickled" is a word I've heard numerous times to describe the older look. It wasn't just oak that got this treatment in years gone by, but maple as well, and the effect was pinkish in tone.

Plato Woodwork is one of the few companies that actually does a true cerusing technique, and it's amazing. They use a wire brush to remove the soft parts of the white oak, apply the coloring which they offer in several shades, and then coat with wax. It adds about 30% to the cost of the cabinetry if you select this option, but it is well worth it to get the look. Other companies like Bentwood do a "cerused" finish that is just distressed paint, so nothing like the real technique that involves waxing. Plato's cerused finish is very hard and durable, one of the more resilient finishes they offer.