Lustrum

Why we made this whisky

Five years is a good opening foray into Found North’s whisky-making journey. Lustrum is about making a whisky that encapsulates 5 years of exploring and adapting our approach and processes. We created a 15-whisky blend, using many of the best component whiskies we have developed over our first five years.

We had a straightforward plan for Lustrum: create a 20+ year whisky that taps into the strengths of old Canadian components and the strengths of Found North, namely our adaptation of Canadian whisky-making, focusing on recasking components and component blends into different oak types and blending them to fit our own preferences for rich, well-structured, cask strength whisky. Regarding flavor, we stuck with our guiding principle: “Follow the Whisky.” This adage has taken us down a number of compelling paths over the years, including the path that led to Lustrum. 

We find there is a tipping point around 20 years, where our whiskies develop the old, dusty, antique characteristics. Sweetness cedes ground to the classic worn leather and darkened fruit qualities we find so enticing in extensively aged North American whisky. The major difference between Lustrum and other whiskies exhibiting those characteristics is the oak balance. Lustrum certainly retains an intensity of wood spice and vanillin, but the oaky bitterness that so often overwhelms the antique flavors is substantially dialed back, allowing space for leather, parchment, wax and oxidized fruit to breathe and thrive.

The Whisky

As you can see below, we did not hold back. We chose components and barrels of whisky that date back to our original lots, whose sister casks were used in our first batches, our first High Altitude Collection release, our first component blends as well as some of the most intriguing finishing casks we have laid down over the past 36 months.

Blending Lustrum

The blending process was extremely difficult. This may be surprising given how many old, excellent whiskies are in this blend. Many whisky drinkers believe that “Old Equals Good.” We think of it more as “Old Equals Distinctive.” Younger whiskies that spend their life in New American Oak tend to be fat, round, sweet and full of caramel. These flavors dominate the profile and simplify the blending process. Older components are more austere. They have intricate, subtle flavors and the overall balance of the whisky is much more sensitive to small tweaks in the blend formula. Typically we are blending at intervals of 0.5%. In Lustrum we were fine-tuning this whisky at 0.1% intervals. Frankly, the whisky demanded that level of precision, requiring orders of magnitude more test blends and months of vatting and tweaking.

So, Lustrum not only commanded 5 years worth of whisky management, but it also required all 5 years of our accumulated blending acumen.

The Profile

Nose

When blending we often reference “white fruits” and “red fruits,” but Lustrum’s nose is characterized by “black fruits.”  The oxidized fruit manifests on the nose as dates, apricot jam, blackberry preserves and black cherry. The waxy, dark vanillin profile leaves impressions of leather, cacao  and toffee. As the initial nose fades, layered woodspice begin to dominate the profile, calling forth sandalwood, mahogany, red maple and pine sap. And if you spend enough time with your nose in the glass your mind plays tricks on you, revealing shadows of citrus like blood orange and grapefruit peel.

The First Sip

Our blending team likes to take the typical “entry, palate and finish” and segment it into 4 quadrants so we can better differentiate moments on the palate and observe the evolving combinations of flavor and texture. It provides a better lens to view the structure of the whisky and its transitions.

The palate on Lustrum is so stretched out, you could easily segment it into a greater number of interconnected pieces. Lustrum lands with a round caramel note followed by a structured tannic fruit profile and a piney molasses note. The mid-palate is marked by rich woodspice, the mahogany on the nose coming through on the palate, before the woodspice yields to a denser allspice and brown sugar note. The finish presents a surprising nutty phenolic quality, reminiscent of lightly roasted walnuts, before hints of sandalwood and blackberry jam carry the finish.

The Second Pass

Admittedly, the more Lustrum you have, the harder it is to parse the story within the story, but the main themes are easier to grasp.

The landing shows a denser, apricot and plum jam quality, mixed with nutmeg and maple candy. The early mid-palate flashes walnut and caramel, before the woodspice and baking spice meld together with a faint tobacco leaf note giving the finish the leather chair in an old library feeling.

The Third Taste

As the flavors meld together it is easier to appreciate the mouthfeel. The caramel and sandalwood landing create a round, viscous and slightly tannic entry that is particularly mouthwatering. The lingering fruit and tahitian vanilla give the mid-palate excellent grip. The vanillin concentrates on the center palate in unison with the emergence of baking spice, creating a waxy quality before the baking spices and the subtle phenolics reassert themselves. The crackling finish carries almost indefinitely.

Before Bed

With a little more palate fatigue tasting Lustrum is like viewing a pointillist painting from a distance. Rye bread, cinnamon stick and demerara sugar carry the whisky into the mid-palate. The tantalizing tannic tension on the side palate is a friendly reminder that this is a fully cask strength whisky, punctuated by the warmth that holds the finish on your tongue until your head hits the pillow. In the final moments of this whisky the dark fruit lingers as wisps of raspberry travel from the back of the palate to the tip of the tongue like a red dawn peaking over a forested horizon.

Manager's Proof

Small amounts of water can have an intriguing effect on Found North whiskies. However, in Lustrum we found that water almost muddied the whisky. Adding water didn’t throw the whisky out of balance, but it made it more difficult to pick out the intricacies of this blend. So, we recommend letting it breathe for up to 30 minutes, but we enjoy it most at strength.