Phifer Pavitt Opens the Cellar: LATE NIGHT and RESERVE Bourbon Finally Go Public

For years, getting your hands on some of Phifer Pavitt’s more interesting whiskey required being part of a pretty exclusive circle.

That changes this September.

Phifer Pavitt Spirits is officially opening two of its limited-production bourbons—LATE NIGHT and RESERVE—to the public for the first time. Previously available exclusively to Phifer Pavitt wine club members, both expressions will make their public debut during the 2026 Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Sept. 10–13 in Bardstown, Kentucky.

And for bourbon drinkers who appreciate what a thoughtfully selected wine barrel can do to mature whiskey, these are two bottles worth knowing about.

Napa Valley Meets American Whiskey

Phifer Pavitt comes to bourbon from a different direction than most whiskey producers.

Its roots are planted firmly in Napa Valley wine country, and rather than treating wine-barrel finishing as simply another way to create a new SKU, the company is leaning into barrels that already have a direct connection to its own winemaking.

Both LATE NIGHT and RESERVE take mature straight bourbon whiskey and give it extended finishing time in barrels previously used for Phifer Pavitt Cabernet Sauvignon.

The spirits are finished, blended, and bottled in collaboration with Whiskey House of Kentucky.

For founder Suzanne Phifer Pavitt, the relationship among the vineyard, the wine barrel, and the finished whiskey is central to what the brand is trying to accomplish.

“Everything we do is rooted in our connection to the land — to our vineyards, to the barrels that hold our wine, and to the moments where people slow down to savor something truly,” Pavitt said.

That philosophy has already earned significant recognition.

An earlier Phifer Pavitt Cabernet-finished bourbon earned 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, 92 points from Whisky Advocate, and a Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It was also included among Robb Report’s 50 Best Bourbons of the 21st Century and highlighted by Forbes among notable cask-finished whiskeys.

Now Phifer Pavitt is taking that concept in two slightly different directions.

LATE NIGHT: 11 Years Old, 107 Proof

LATE NIGHT starts with an 11-year-old straight bourbon whiskey before spending another 13 months in Phifer Pavitt DATE NIGHT Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.

It is bottled at 107 proof.

That extended finish is significant. This isn’t a quick trip through a wine barrel designed to add a little color and fruit before bottling. Thirteen months allows the Cabernet barrel to become a meaningful part of the final whiskey.

The nose brings together French oak and vanilla with dark caramel, spiced almonds, worn leather, and cinnamon. On the palate, raisin and fig notes give way to smoked caramel and almond brittle before giving way to a long, warming finish.

The higher proof should also help keep the bourbon from disappearing underneath the influence of the Cabernet barrel—something that can be a challenge with heavily wine-finished whiskey.

LATE NIGHT has already received some attention in bourbon circles, with Drinkhacker naming it one of its standout pours from the 2025 Kentucky Bourbon Festival.

Now everyone else finally gets a shot at it.

RESERVE: 12 Years Old, 24-Month Finish, 115 Proof

If LATE NIGHT sounds interesting, RESERVE turns about every dial another notch.

RESERVE begins as a 12-year Tennessee straight bourbon whiskey before spending a remarkable 24 months in Phifer Pavitt RESERVE Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.

It is bottled at 115 proof and cask strength.

Two full years in a Cabernet barrel creates the potential for a serious amount of interaction between whiskey and wine-soaked oak, particularly when you’re starting with bourbon that already has 12 years of maturation behind it.

Phifer Pavitt describes the nose as rich with dark fruit, dark chocolate, and toasted oak. Vanilla bean, caramelized sugar, toasted almonds, charred maple, leather and cinnamon follow on the palate, with toffee and espresso carrying into the finish.

On paper, RESERVE is the bottle that immediately grabs our attention.

A 12-year bourbon, a two-year Cabernet finish, and a 115-proof cask-strength presentation isn’t exactly an everyday combination.

And that’s the point.

A Different Kind of Wine-Finished Bourbon

Wine finishing has become increasingly common in American whiskey, but the interesting part of the Phifer Pavitt story is the connection between wine and whiskey.

These aren’t anonymous barrels sourced simply because a producer wanted to release a Cabernet-finished bourbon.

The barrels come from Phifer Pavitt’s own winemaking program.

That creates a more direct relationship between what was previously inside the barrel and the whiskey that eventually comes out of it. For drinkers interested in finishing, maturation, and the increasingly blurry line between the wine and whiskey worlds, LATE NIGHT and RESERVE offer an interesting experiment.

More importantly, they’re doing it with properly aged bourbon and enough proof to let the whiskey fight back.

That’s a combination we’re interested in tasting.

Catch Them at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival

The public launch happens at the 2026 Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, running Sept. 10–13.

Festival ticket holders will be able to purchase LATE NIGHT and RESERVE at the Whiskey House chalet throughout the weekend, while supplies last.

Tastings will also be offered at the Whiskey House chalet from 11 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, and Saturday, Sept. 12.

For those who won’t be in Bardstown, bottles are also available online through a Phifer Pavitt Spirits membership, including a two-bottle package featuring both LATE NIGHT and RESERVE.

After years of keeping these expressions largely within the Phifer Pavitt family, the doors are finally opening.

For bourbon drinkers who like older whiskey, higher proof, and aggressive experimentation with secondary maturation, LATE NIGHT and RESERVE deserve a spot on the radar.

And if you’re headed to Bardstown for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival?

We’d suggest finding the Whiskey House chalet.

This is exactly the kind of weird, ambitious, wine-meets-whiskey bottle hunting that makes bourbon festivals fun in the first place.