Post photos here to illustrate the things you're unhappy with.

He knew he had to match color and finish. Don't pay. Make him go forward if he wants to try to collect. Distasteful and stressful, but fair. Let your contractor know too that he referred you to an idiot. cpartist may be right to get your contractor in on it if he had any involvement beyond just giving you a name and number.

Order from Brookhaven. Paying for that may increase your resolve not to pay the cabinet cheat.

And don't let the cabinet maker try again! He's told you (finally) that he can't do it!

Just a thought Other options:

Order stain from Brookhaven, you can easily get a quart. A few colors that are two step finishes, like cognac, are tricky and should be practiced first. That's what I'd have done to begin with. (actually did that when I did mine)

If you have frameless? Depending on configuration you can order finished doors and drawers from BH. Exposed sides would require some thought.

I'm with 12crumbles. Matching cabinets is in the advanced class. He's got to pay some tuition.

I've worked in cabinet shops. There is the mill where parts are cut; builders, and finishers. They are separate trades. A finisher doesn't mill. A builder doesn't finish.

If you order the stain per MarkJames suggestion, do you trust this cabinet maker to apply it correctly? Or your GC/cabinet marker should pay for a skilled person with stains to give it a go. You shouldn't have to pay for extra labor or for the stain.

First off you said it's cherry. Cherry reacts more to light and environment than most any other wood. It will also take stain differently. So even if you were to buy the exact same cabinet from the company that built your cabinets at a future date it would be extremely rare to get a perfect match.

Secondly, professional factory finishes are not just stain and topcoat in many case. They are a mix of dyes, sealers toners glazes, topcoats etc. It's like trying to get a salon look for your hair color out of a box. So you would need to know finishing schedule (order of how things are applied) and also the age of the wood and how it was stored etc.

We plan to use a mix of Kraftmaid and Ikea for our kitchen. Because I'm using natural hickory matching won't be a big issue when we have our doors and end panels built for the Ikea part. But knowing what I know about the process I don't expect a perfect "finish" match even thought it's basically just clear coat. That's why the Ikea will not be directly adjacent to the Kraftmaid.

You may get a matching quart of stain, but you're not going to get a million-dollar finishing room with climate and contamination control, explosion-proof fixtures, calibrated spray guns, etc.

Watchmelol and Joseph Corlett are giving very knowledgeable advice. You are not going to get a match. The best you can do is bite the bullet and order from BH. For the reasons watchmelol gives, even the BH is unlikely to be a perfect match, but it will still look like it belongs.

I try to discourage homemade matching to professional finishes. Even with the company supplied stain, it can be tricky. This isn't to gouge anyone into buying expensive pieces only from me. It's to ensure that they are satisfied with the result. If you have the same high expectation of fit and finish, and it all looking seamless, the best bet is to keep to the same manufacturer. That manufacturer could be a skilled local cabinet maker or a well known factory line. Just don't mix them when you're trying to match

Now if you are doing a totally different door and finish, sure, go ahead. The separate furniture piece look doesn't rely on you matching anything but quality levels.

Thanks for all the comments. Wish I'd heard/known all this before instead of believing him when he said he'd get us an almost exact match. Expensive and stressful lesson learned.

Contractor isn't proving very helpful and the person that built the cabinet is shocked we do not agree that the cabinet is, as he says, "a 9 out of 10 match". Feeling very frustrated. We do not trust him to finish another one properly and, due to the exposed parts, can't figure out how just ordering doors from BH will work. (Wish it would!) Waiting for the person who built it to get back to me. He feels he should be compensated some for his materials and labor. Suggestions on how to handle that discussion? I hate talking money and demanding money back when not satisfied.

hazelwags:

In the store fixture manufacturing business, the architect specifies a finish, the cabinet shop does a sample, the architect approves, and as long as the delivered fixture matches the sample, the store has to accept it.

I built and finished an oak window seat many years ago. Made a sample and had the lady SIGN THE BACK OF THE SAMPLE. When the seat was finished, she was in tears that it was "too dark". Her own written approval of the sample meant nothing. She wanted me to strip and start over for no additional money; I told her where to put her window seat. Best $700.00 I ever lost.

This is not an alternator in a truck. It's art and therefore subjective and dangerous for small businesspersons. It's his turn. Life ain't fair.