Review #225: Found North Goldfinch First Flight

MASH BILL: 91% corn, 8% rye, 1% malted barley (derived)

AGE and BLEND: Goldfinch is a blend of the following whiskeys:

• 15yr corn whiskey in new American oak
• 22yr corn whiskey in new American oak
• 20yr corn whiskey in used American oak
• 22yr corn whiskey in used American oak
• 20yr rye whiskey in used American oak

This blend was then split into finishing casks: 2/3 went into Sauternes casks, 1/6 into Cognac casks, and 1/6 into Kelvin, heavy toast char #1 casks.

PROOF: 116.2

COST: $160 for 750mL bottle

Goldfinch is the latest release from the Found North High Altitude Collection. The focus for this release was the Sauternes finishing cask and the rest of this blend was built around that component. Due to the creamy, fruity profile of Sauternes, the focus was to build a whiskey blend that had a lot of fruit notes and a creamy texture the Sauternes casks could accentuate. A blend with a low rye content helps suppress the spice notes and let the sweet fruit notes shine. The added cognac finishing casks help boost the fruit notes while the new low char Kelvin barrels will help thicken the texture. Let’s see how it all turned out.

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Golden, brown color (1.6), syrupy with very slow legs.

NOSE: Sweet and bright. Honeyed pears, golden raisins, and caramel are supported by a peppery, tannic oak note. Cinnamon complemented by a touch of zesty citrus and vanilla extract are ever present; conversely, a honeysuckle note makes occasional appearances. There is a dark red fruit note buried underneath the brighter notes that stick out at first. I also get a kind of BBQ sort of note in this with a sort of marriage of sticky sweetness and smoky wood note.

PALATE: A creamy mouthfeel that grows more tannic. Opposite the nose, deeper dark notes present first and morph into brighter notes further from the landing. A dark fruit compote of plum, currant, and cherries start off with a brown sugar simple syrup. Cinnamon and tannic oak bite at the insides of my cheeks. Vanilla starts to build in at the mid palate. As the dark fruit notes fade, the spice builds in more with pink peppercorns, rye spice, and a touch of orange citrus in addition to the cinnamon. Orange blossom honey and pear begin to shine through the tannic oak. The proof heat builds and prickles my cheeks and the back of my palate. A very oily texture is left on the palate after the swallow.

FINISH: A medium length, tannic finish. More tannic than I was expecting based on how the profile was advertised, however, less tannic than maybe should be expected based on the stats of this whiskey with its 15-22 year whiskeys in various American oak casks. Cherry wood, cinnamon and vanilla poached apples, and a drizzle of butterscotch. A leather note also shows up here in the finish showing the age of the components. There is a consistent hug that shows up with each sip.

RATING: 7.9/10

OVERALL: Complex, as always with Found North. This had a bit more heat than I was expecting. I loved how the nose had brighter notes more on the surface with dark sweetness a bit deeper, then the palate was almost the complete opposite with dark fruit notes up front transforming into a brighter sweet notes on the backend. The finish was probably my favorite part of this sip. While there was still some proof heat, the cherry wood and butterscotch notes I got were excellent final notes to be left with. This is my lowest rated Found North expression to date, and at 7.9/10 it’s still no slouch!

 

1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings

2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings

3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings

4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings

5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings

6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings

7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings

8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings

9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings

10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings