Review #231 - Found North Batch 007
Like the other batches from Found North, this is a blend of Canadian whiskies. The brand gives us a handy breakdown of the individual components on their website:
1998 vintage (24 years old) corn whisky aged in ex-bourbon barrels
22 year old corn whisky aged in ex-bourbon barrels
22 year old corn whisky aged in new American oak barrels
2004 vintage (18 years old) rye whisky aged in Hungarian oak barrels
The overall blend is 18 years and 11 months old, with a predominantly corn-led mashbill. It comes in at a blistering cask strength of 65.9% ABV (131.8 proof), and it's fully unadulterated, not subject to any chill filtration.
Found North Batch 007
USA/Canada - Blend
Current Locally Available Price: USD 160 (2024)
Age Statement: 18 Years
Strength: 65.9% ABV
Cask Makeup: Hungarian oak, new American oak, ex-bourbon barrels
Details: Batch 007, 3,345 bottles; not chill filtered, no color added; mashbill of 83% corn, 16% rye, and 1% malted barley
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 1 month from a sample. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Dark and dense - brown sugar, oak, soft leather, and maple syrup. It's a bit closed up or reserved at first, but with more time, orange and dark red berries can be found hidden underneath the sugary molasses sweetness. Little hints of corn and alcohol sharpness from time to time, too.
Palate: A thick mouthfeel, syrupy and very rich. Flavor is quite a bit stronger on the palate - old oak, cigar smoke, unsmoked tobacco, and fresh leather. Red berries return, along with some peppery rye spice; strong black pepper in the late palate. Very densely flavored.
Finish: Medium-long, with strong flavors of perfumed oak and cigar smoke lingering. There's barbecued wood and leather later, hints of pipe smoke, and in the aftertaste, some cinnamon and red fruit.
Final Note: Another excellent whisky from Found North. The reserved nose was the only item preventing this from scoring even higher, but the palate opened with fantastic flavors. It's strongly oaked, but it never approaches over-oaking at all - perfect balance, great maturity. Like all of the Found North whiskies we've tried so far, the alcohol is amazingly well-integrated; even at these high cask strength levels, there's never a sharp alcohol burn... it drinks under its proof.
Value is average, maybe even decent, despite the $160 cost. It's hard to find another brand that delivers this level of flavor so consistently for the price point.
Our Average Rating: 9.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.63
Check out our other Found North reviews:
