Found North Batch 008

Description

At Found North, we structure our blends around one component whisky. When you see “Maturation” on our bottles we are referring to the aging regimen for that component, our keystone in the arch of the whisky. Sometimes it makes up 50% of the blend and sometimes it makes up 5% of the blend, but it is always the foundational piece of the whisky. In the case of Batch 008, we used a vibrant 18 year old rye barrel in an ex-Madeira cask. This component makes up 4% of the blend, but it dominates the profile, releasing blackberry and fig puree on the nose, and a wild-grain, earthtone on the palate.

The ex-Madeira aged rye was unruly and vivacious, requiring four separate corn components to round out the profile and give the whisky its shockingly creamy texture. To accomplish this, we blended in a 22 year corn component in new wood, a 23 year corn component in new wood, a 23 year corn component in ex-Bourbon, and our favorite, a 26 year corn component in Hungarian oak. Lastly, we used a 19 year Hungarian oak aged rye to provide Batch 008 with the spicy backbone and texture on the finish.

Flavor Notes

The nose smells of a freshly baked blueberry muffin with a swirl of blackberry buttercream frosting. The muffin is caked with a glaze of cane sugar, resting atop of dried fig and apple crisp. The whisky lands on the palate, bright, fresh and cooling, like the first breath of an autumn morning. The palate erupts with a mix of tangy, tart sweetness, homemade whipped cream and an apple cider donut that fell into a pile of freshly fallen leaves.

There is a wildness to the whisky, like it was cultivated in a field of rye and wildflowers on an unknown hill. The whisky finally blossoms into the finish, a creamy crescendo of angel food cake, it never turns hot or dry. It just lingers. Bright. Vibrant. Viscous.

Why We Made This Whisky

We made this whisky because we believe Found North is a living project, our opportunity to create meaningful whisky. It is not just about the chapters of each batch and the reimagined story of Canadian whisky. It is about a very small team of whisky makers who are consumed by each part of the process and pour our love, time and energy into each whisky we make. It is an obsession. It keeps us up at night. We simply will not stop thinking about how we can make better whisky.

The ex-Madeira aged rye in this blend was an aged whisky we recasked because we believed it had potential to become a lynchpin component, something truly stunning. It delivered. This barrel allowed us to make a whisky with an exuberant landing, the spice component we always want in whisky, and a decadent finish that was long in flavor and not just long in heat.

Manager’s Proof

Manager’s Proof represents our feeling that cask strength whisky should be enjoyed at a variety of proof points by adding varying amounts of water. Batch 008 thrives when you add 0.8mls of water to a 50ml pour. It reveals the darker edges of the 18 year rye, a leathery note, pound cake and whiffs or rolling tobacco. The palate picks up a hint of minty freshness and minerality while the finish entrenches itself further into a tub of icing.