Savage & Cooke Grenache Finished Bourbon - (Chateau de Pursuit) - Bourbon Pursuit Private Barrel Pick 750 ml

OVERVIEW:

On June 16th, 2021 Kenny, Ryan, and Shem connected for a unique barrel selection with Master Distiller Jordan Via from Savage & Cooke.  Founded by Napa Valley Wine Maker Dave Phinney (Founder of Prisoner Wines), Savage & Cooke specializes in complimenting Bourbon and Rye with Red Wine Barrel finishes.  Jordan is currently leveraging contract distilled MGP Bourbon, while his own Savage & Cooke distillate ages on-site at the former Naval Base on Mare Island in Vallejo CA.  The contract distilled MGP bourbon has been aging at the distillery since 2017.  Located on the San Francisco Bay, Mare Island will often have highs in the upper 80's during the summer days, and then be covered with a thick layer of fog and low temperatures in the upper 50's at night.

The team was set up 4 bourbon samples which would become the base for the selection, and then 3 red wine finishes to help us understand and ultimately select a secondary finish.  Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Grenache were the 3 wine finishes, and we absolutely fell in love with the Grenache finish from the South of France (wines used to make Chateauneuf-Du-Pape).  Jordan absolutely crushed it on the finish, and you are going to LOVE this whiskey.

DETAILS:

Savage & Cooke uses a Char level 3 on the barrels, which allows the whiskey to spend a shorter amount of time during the secondary finishing.  The result is that the finish shines through and compliments the whiskey rather than becoming a distraction and overpowering the natural bourbon characteristics.

• NOSE - The nose is a wonderful bouquet - honey, brown sugar, strawberry, orange, toffee, fig, caramel, rum raisin cake, brown butter, and chewy, dense mulled wine, and stewed jammy fruit.
• PALATE - The palate explodes. There’s a surge of viscosity that in one direction gets honey, chewy, sweet - and the other gets spiced plum, orange, brown sugar, and Milky Way candy bar.
• FINISH - The finish is long, slow, and dense - spiced, fruity, and full.  That jammy stewed fruit returns lingering, with echoes of candy bar nougat, and honey.

NOTE:  10 minutes in the glass and it opens immensely. You'll be rewarded by leaving the cork off the bottle for 24-48 hours after opening which will relax the spice and allow the whiskey to soak into the palate. The grenache wine barrel finishing is prominent & pleasing, and if you are looking for a super easy drinking, chewy, flavorful finished whiskey you have come to the right place, and you won't be disappointed.