The Burning Chair Bourbon

The latest venture of the mastermind behind Orin Swift Dave Phinney. As you’d expect, this sourced bourbon is wine cask-aged. I’m curious to see how a wine savant can apply his knowledge to improve bourbon. I’ve had some pretty good ones in this genre before; let’s see how the product of a true wine craftsmen stacks up. Nose: Dusty corn, newspaper, and saw dust (I’m finding this a lot in wine cask-aged bourbons.) Lots of of spice. Cinnamon, thyme, clove, nutmeg, and allspice. Brown sugar, caramel, and red grape. Apricot and pecan pie. A puff of cigar smoke. Mahogany/oak. So far so good. Palate: Red grape, pecan pie, apple, and apricot. More dusty corn and some walnut and almond. Traditional bourbon caramel and vanilla notes. Dried caramel and Twizzler. Cola and jam. Good balance between spirit and cask. Finish: Newspaper and grape. Cranberry and plum. Chestnut and almond. Clove, nutmeg, sawdust, and oak. Cinnamon, black pepper, and oak. Dusty corn note on the way down. Moderate length finish. Surprisingly long at 44% ABV. A lot to like here. The quality of the casks makes up for the youth of the spirit. I would love to try an older rendition with the same casks (I think this a 4-year.) Solid from start to finish. This may benefit from a slight kick in ABV. It’s tough to call, since the delicacy of the wine cask influence may be diminished by simply turning up the proof without a second thought. I actually think it performs well at this proof, but I wouldn’t mind getting seeing some higher proof offerings down the road. If you’re a traditional bourbon drinker looking to shake things up, I would recommend this. If you’re a Scotch/Irish drinker looking to for an introduction to American whiskey, this wouldn’t be a bad place to start. If you like Legent, I’d highly recommend this. It doesn’t quite stack up to Jefferson’s Groth Cask or Wyoming Double Cask, but it’s still a pretty damn good bourbon. 4/5.

Have already tried the 5yr+ Second Glance sourced/wine-finished whiskey from Dave Phinney, and now this younger 4yr+ sourced bourbon, finished in Napa Valley cabernet barrels. It's been sitting in my cellar for a while--time to go. Tasted neat. Light copper color and thin legs in the glass. Nose is sweet grain and grass, floral vanilla, and fruit. In the mouth, sweet grain, white pepper, red wine, and a little oak, leather, and ethanol. Thin mouthfeel. Finish may be the best part of this. Spicy sweet grass, chocolate, and vanilla oak, and then a long dry tingling mouthfeel. Fruit sweetness lingers, but it's not sour. I'll admit I like wine-finished whiskeys. They can go overboard in sweetness and fruit flavor. This one holds that in check with its peppery bite. Ice-melt takes some of that away and accentuates the wine/fruit flavors. I'll also admit I love Phinney's bottle/label packaging--not your Kentucky-uncle's-standard-for-bold-print-you-can-read-across-a-smoky-room,-and-a-bottle-neck-for-grabbing-ease. Nope. Very wine county avant gard refined, great label and squat bottle with a glass stopper. Very Nice!

In short, tastes like a youngish (but still quite sippable) bourbon aged in slightly more heavily charred barrels (there is a heavy, almost bitter char quality rather than sweet marshmallow), then finished in red wine barrels (the wine influence is unmistakable). When I tasted this, I did not know that it had been finished in red wine barrels, but nonetheless I noticed the wine influence immediately. On the other hand, I don't know for certain whether or not the distillate was aged in more heavily charred barrels than normal, or if it's just the influence of the moniker, or perhaps the influence of the secondary barrels. I definitely do feel like this is on the more dry, more bitter, and oakier side of bourbons, especially for age. Also, it drinks like something slightly higher proof (92 instead of 88).

A light golden straw in color, moderate amount of legs and a fairly thick sheet left behind. The nose is light, with Bartlett pear, corn flakes and biscuit mix. My first thought after tasting it is that it's very well balanced and easy to drink for a 4-year-old product. Brach's caramels or Werther's candies come to mind, as well as the jelly packets from middle school. It's a short-medium finish, that lacks complexity but not dimension. This is a surprise and has exceeded my expectations.

For what this is, it’s fantastic. The flavor profile just isn’t my preference, leading to a lower score. Incredibly well balanced, not surprising for a wine maker, the nose brings out fresh berries, blackberry in particular, with wafts of caramel. The palate is loaded with vanilla, maple, caramel, and spices. Just a bit too sweet for my liking, but incredibly smooth. Great as an aperitif.

Tried neat. On the nares I get the obvious red wine as well as sour cherries, strawberries, oak, silky, chocolate. Very fruity and smells like a chocolate covered strawberry… but that could be because valentines is in 2 days and a girl has cravings. On the palate I very much get a red wine which is always nice. It’s tart and somewhat sour on the palate like an old wine with a hot finish.