Review #167: Found North Batch 11

GRAIN RATIO: 91% corn, 8% rye, 1% malted barley

PROOF: 129.8

AGE: Blend of the following:

• 18 yr corn whiskey finished in a new wood barrel
• 18 yr corn whiskey finished in an ex-bourbon barrel
• 20 yr corn whiskey finished in an ex-bourbon barrel
• 23 yr corn whiskey finished in a new wood barrel
• 23 yr corn whiskey finished in an ex-bourbon barrel
• 24 yr corn whiskey finished in a new wood barrel
• 24 yr corn whiskey finished in an ex-bourbon barrel
• Two separate lots of 19 yr rye whiskey in used American oak
• One batch of the blended components of Peregrine First Flight from a new wood barrel that never got used in Peregrine (i.e. no Cognac finish)

COST: $165 for 750mL bottle

I have a love-hate relationship with Found North. Simply because I love when I can get lucky and get my hands on a bottle, and I hate when I can’t. Such is life. Over time, Found North has been getting better at meeting the demand, but there’s still a lot of people that miss out on each release. Must be a nice problem to have for Found North. Luckily, I scored a Batch 11 bottle, so let’s check it out! (Also, for the record, consider this bitching about the limited amount either. I recognize that what Found North is doing may not be as sustainable if doing it in large batches. Also, this is just part of reality for all great things, not just whiskey. I just wish I knew about Found North in the early days before everyone sought it. 😊)

This is bottle 7762, reviewed neat in a Glencairn (unless otherwise noted diluted to the recommended manager’s proof – 2 mL water to 50 mL whiskey)

APPEARANCE: Varnished mahogany color (1.6); very oily looking with fat, slow legs and a ring of fat beads left behind on the glass.

NOSE: Sweet and oaky. Butterscotch and burnt sugar adorn notes of orange creamsicle, old oak, and a tinge of barrel char and Orgeat. While the sweetness certainly leads off, bold, earthy oak notes, leather, dry corn husks, and caramelized sugar really settle in dense on the nose. (At manager’s proof, the sweetness is more front and center the whole time with oak and leather taking a more solid back seat. More vanilla shows up in that creamsicle note as well. That dry corn husk note is more dominant amongst the earthier notes, too.) Zero proof heat. (How the hell do they do that with 130 proof whiskey? The FN folks are magicians.)

PALATE: The mouthfeel is viscous on the palate, turning a bit more dry going into the finish. A homogenous blend of sweet and savory notes right away. Warm caramel, dark chocolate, orange marmalade, dark roast coffee, smoked paprika, and well-seasoned oak. At mid-palate, the sweeter notes begin to take a back seat to the deeper aged notes. Tannic oak, burnt vanilla bean, and cinnamon stand out. With a good chew, that orange citrus note really pops adding some brightness to an otherwise deep, rich profile. Going into the finish, the coffee note and oak start to crescendo. The oak note is a nice balance of tannic and sweet, and also rather potent: think oak extract if that was a thing. (At manager’s proof, this has a notably thinner mouthfeel, and a bit more tannic dryness. That corn husk note from the nose transfers over a bit better as well providing a slightly dusty earthiness to the profile. Vanilla cream comes through more prominently as well.)

FINISH: Long finish (though, doesn’t strike me as long as some other FN expressions I’ve had for what it’s worth). It’s a rather tannic finish at first, but as it draws out it concludes on the sweeter side. Dark roast coffee, sweet oak, barrel char, toasted vanilla, and cinnamon powder. As it continues on, bitter tannins make the mouth feel rather dry, but caramelized sugar and a slight touch of cherry start to show up late to mellow out the tannic oak. (At manager’s proof, the coffee note is almost absent being replaced by more oak and vanilla. The finish is certainly less tannic and the sweeter notes have opened up a bit more.)

RATING: 9.4/10

OVERALL: Found North just makes banger after banger. Like all their expressions, they just have layer upon layer of complexity and the pour just continues to unfold as you drink it. I particularly loved the nose on this one. It was a wonderful balance of sweet sugars, earthy oak, and some light spice. The oak continued to grow throughout the sip, taking on a more prominent role on the palate and then really being front and center on the finish. I enjoyed this slow transition for the oak whereas some other recent releases I felt were bit more oak heavy. I think this is probably my favorite release since Batch 8 for what it’s worth.

Behind the Bottle

Found North said that this batch was inspired by Batch 2 and trying to recreate that profile. In the past, most FN batches have a single component that they build the blend around. But this was the first expression in which it was a certain profile they were chasing so it was a blend of specific components that was the foundation for Batch 11, specifically, the components finished in new wood (18yr corn, 23yr corn, 24yr corn, and the Peregrine blend). Having never experienced Batch 2, I can’t speak to how close it compares, but I know that Batch 11 is an exceptional whiskey.

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, BBCo Origin High Wheat, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, Maker's Mark Wood Finishing releases, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Woodford Reserve Batch Proof 121.2, BBC DS #7, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08