Review #526 - Found North Hell Diver First Flight
The second entry in Found North's 'High Altitude Collection,' which started in 2024 - this is Hell Diver. It's a 15 year old cask strength whisky made from distillate sourced from Canada, but additional aging, blending, and bottling took place in the United States. The release takes its name from the nickname of the Common Loon, a bird known for diving below the surface of water to hunt for prey.
Found North lists the components of the blend on their website, which consists of 5 pieces for this release:
15 Year Corn whisky
22 Year Corn whisky
23 Year Corn whisky
18 Year Rye whisky
19 Year Rye whisky
After combining these components, the overall mashbill comes out to 85% corn, 14% rye, and 1% malted barley. The casks used for initial maturation aren't specified; often, Found North is using ex-bourbon barrels at first.
The High Altitude Collection revolves around finishing and re-blending, though, and this Hell Diver uses 3 different cask types to impart additional flavors: Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, Cognac casks, and new American oak. This combination could add fruity, oily, and spicy oak dimensions to the whisky.
Bottling took place in 2024, and this bottle comes with a hefty cask strength presentation of 59.5% ABV (119 proof); as always with Found North, this is natural whisky, so there's no worry of chill filtration or added coloring.
Found North Hell Diver First Flight
USA/Canada - Blend
MSRP: USD 160 (2024)
Available Price: USD 300 (2025, based on recent auction results)
Age Statement: 15 Years
Strength: 59.5% ABV
Cask Makeup: Finished in PX sherry, Cognac, and new American oak casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; bottled 2024; 2,208 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 5 months from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Very rich - caramel or caramel popcorn, cream soda, strong leathery oak, and a mild earthy side - mushrooms, slightly savory. The oak develops a rich tobacco leaf note, even cigar smoke; that's balanced by sweet fruits of mandarin orange, cherry, plum, and nectarine. More sweetness comes from icing sugar; it's nuanced and complex.
Palate: A medium-thick mouthfeel; this is rich and warming, but never too hot - the spirit is very well integrated with the oak influence. Velvety vanilla, brown sugar, and syrup combine with fruits of pomegranate, grape, blackberry, and plum. Soft pepper adds spice, and oak grows stronger with time - leather, too. At the end of the palate, we get a tangy orange.
Finish: Soft rye spice, an herb like rosemary, and nutmeg add some interesting spice; those are balanced by lots of sweet notes: raspberry, molasses, brown sugar. The strong oak is adding leather again along with a subtle smoke - cigar smoke again. It's a long finish, and the aftertaste brings subtle chocolate.
Final Note: Outstanding whisky - this is probably our favorite Found North release so far, and the other releases from the blender have already set a high bar. Extremely complex - so much going on in terms of fruit, baking notes, spirit, and oak... and it's all well integrated, too. Very rich, but it also doesn't drink at its strength. This blend has been put together very well.
Value at the original pricing around $160 is decent, despite the fact that it is expensive. Because this bottle has gained quite a bit of hype, though, and the quantity produced was small, prices have risen quite a bit on the secondary market.
Our Average Rating: 9.5 / 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 (MSRP): 7.00
Value Rating (Available Price): 5.23
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
