Review #256: Found North Batch 012

GRAIN RATIO: 86% corn, 13% rye, 1% malted barley

BLEND and AGE:

• A component blend of the following was aged in heavily toasted French oak:
• 16yr corn whiskey in new American oak
• 20yr corn whiskey in used American oak
• 20yr corn whiskey in new American oak
• 22yr corn whiskey in new American oak
• 20yr rye whiskey in used American oak
• The component blend above was then blended with the following individual components for the final Batch 012 release:
• 16yr corn in new American oak
• 20yr corn in new American oak
• 22yr corn in new American oak
• 22yr corn in new American oak
• 20yr rye in new American oak
• 22yr rye in used American oak

PROOF: 128.2

COST: $150 for 750mL bottle (Found North)

Found North Batch 12 features a component blend aged in Frech Oak barrels for 7 months, then blended with a lot of the components that were used to make that component blend. Found North releases always involve allowing whiskey to reach peak maturation before they bottle, and from my perspective, they do this very well. I really wanted to learn more about their process for targeting peak maturation. After some correspondence with one of their founders, Nick Taylor, I feel like I have a better appreciation for Found North whiskey. I got a little insight about what I was looking for. Check out the “Behind the Bottle” segment if knowing more about their process intrigues you, but for now, onto the review!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Bright auburn (1.5) teardrop legs of medium body and speed.

NOSE: I feel like with most Found North releases I get a dark, fruity sweetness with rich molasses note on the nose. It’s there, but just not quite as robust. Sticky plum, a big scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, Brule sugar, and charred sugar maple swirl around at first. As I start to isolate notes, I get a woody spice, almost sage like, as well as some traditional baking spice notes wrapped up in a pecan praline. But the sweetness continues to show me new notes on the nose throughout the sip: campfire toasted marshmallow, raspberry compote, and a touch of orange peel. No proof heat on the nose despite being nearly 130 proof.

PALATE: Medium mouthfeel that is a bit grippy and comes with a touch of proof heat. The sweetness is still present but goes much darker and burnt like, which lends to there always being a component of spice or earthiness that is present. A marshmallow that has overstayed its welcome in the campfire, heavily toasted vanilla beans, caramel sauce and black cherry syrup are drizzled over toasted oak. A reduction of plums and mexican hot chocolate with the rich dark chocolate, nutmeg, and vanilla.

FINISH: A long finish that leans dry, but the sweetness continues to make appearances. Tanic oak and Mexican hot chocolate. A bubbling, sticky reduction of molasses, cherries, plums, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. The oak note gets sweeter as the reduction starts to fade. Cheeks and mid-to back of the tongue are left feeling the proof heat well after the swallow, but not necessarily detracting as much as just showing signs of the proof.

RATING: 8.8/10

OVERALL: It has a robust sweetness. At first, I felt like this had a bit of a departure from previous FN Batch releases, so I tried it side by side with Batch 11 and Batch 10 since I still have some around. I think it’s darker and richer than the previous batches, but the proof and spice are a bit more grippy with Batch 12. Batch 10 and 11 are almost brighter or more delicate feeling than Batch 12. This is reasonably explained by the details of each whiskey. Batch 12 has the highest percentage of rye of these 3 batches bringing some extra spice. The proof heat I think is just unique to the particular barrels used in this blend considering a 16 year age statement is no schlub (though Batch 11 did have a higher age statement and seemingly higher average age for its components). Batch 10 was in general just a different beast altogether being a blend of corn and wheat whiskey with a little malt whiskey in there. But let’s get back to Batch 12. I did try it at the recommended Manager’s Proof and it cut the proof heat a little, but it wasn’t enough of a change for me to hone in on the subtle differences at barrel proof. I added a “dash” of water to a full pour and was able to cut the proof significantly (though I still got a mild hug on each sip), but the spicier notes were significantly muffled and the sweeter notes really dominated. One thing to note is the spice was always amplified by the proof heat, but the spice in this pour was always paired with dark, sticky sweetness though. The more confectionary notes of toasted marshmallow, crème brule, etc. I was getting at the beginning of the sip or when I was able to isolate them from the spice notes on the nose.

Behind the Bottle

The best way to describe Found North is that they’re a whiskey producer founded by whiskey nerds like most of us. After reaching out to ask questions about multiple releases, I always eventually hear from Nick Taylor, one of the founding brothers. He is just as nerdy over whiskey as most of us, if not more. And to pile it on, his love for the hobby has now turned into his source of income, and it exudes from him.

The main thing I’ve been the most intrigued by with Found North over the years is how they nail either:

• the peak of maturation of whiskey so well, OR
• exactly the profile they are going for, decided before the whiskey is fully matured.

Considering they source all their whiskey, how do they create the perfect blend to target exactly what they are shooting for? Here’s what I’ve gathered after chatting with Nick.

The blending team at FN is a three-man blending team plus a data analyst. They have their own methods and processes for monitoring all the whiskey they own, but here are few highlights that help them know when a whiskey is reaching its peak maturation:

1. They tank whiskey when they believe it’s reached its peak so that it stops changing. (Not necessarily uncommon for craft distillers, but I do feel like this in contrast to bigger distilleries that will continue to let it age and figure out when the right “high age statement” whiskey opportunity will arrive or they’ll just blend it out later.)
2. They have extensive experience in a variety of whiskeys (rye, corn, etc.) in various cask types.
3. They try to boil things down to a basic tasting note as a team. Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove - they’re not the same, but they’re all “baking spice.” Tahitian, Madagascar, and Caribbean – they’re all distinctly different vanilla profiles when you compare them side-by-side, but they’re all “vanilla” in the end.
4. They have a vault of whiskey including thousands of samples they have of different barrels at various points of maturation
5. They break down tasting notes by quadrants. This was first explained in the lab notes of Goldfinch. Each quadrant is defined by the following:
• The first quadrant is the landing, your very first impression of the whiskey.
• The second quadrant is the initial “mid-palate.” What hits you following that immediate sip.
• The third quadrant is the late “mid-palate.” What builds as the sip starts to linger on the palate.
• The fourth quadrant is the finish. The “resolve.” The aftertaste. What lingers.
6. Instead of thinking of whiskey as just 4 quadrants of tasting though, they try to think of it 3-dimensionally. Where specifically are you tasting something on the palate. Nick specifically picked up an herbal note under his tongue and on the sides of his palate for Batch 12 (Funny enough, I get a similar herbal note on the top and sides of my palate when I’m tasting Batch 12, but it lingers on the bottom of my palate.)
7. Their data analyst helps keep all their tasting notes for each barrel in a massive spreadsheet. Because of their extensive history with various whiskeys in various casks, they are able to use previous determinations of peak maturation to predict when the peak maturation will occur for other casks. This predictive capability helps them set their sampling frequency.
8. And lastly, they aren't afraid to push the limits and try new things. You can’t be certain you’re reaching peak maturation for most barrels without having a few exceed peak maturation. Same goes for component blends. But they embrace these mistakes and learn from them.

While it’s not a perfect science, it works for them. Because they have tasted numerous barrels of similar whiskies in various finishing casks, they have a good feeling for when certain barrels will reach peak maturation. However, having a data analysis on the team helps.

Nick believes it’s not necessarily the notes you’re tasting that determines how a whiskey will resonate with you, but more of the where on the palate, when in the sip, and how they balance each other. This is an interesting perspective as most reviews don’t go into that level of detail. While reviewers tend to resort to specific tasting notes based on their own personal past experiences, breaking their notes down into a few simple notes such as baking spice, fruit, wood sugars, tannins, floral, herbal, earthy, etc. can help you understand the whiskey before you ever try it. But how it resonates with you is the whole experience - the where, when, and how aspects mentioned above. I’m personally going to start thinking about this more intently. While I’ve tried to include some of these where and when aspects in my tasting reviews in the past, it was with the intent of helping others home in on certain flavors that show up acutely. Paying more attention to it myself though may start to show trends of flavor combinations, their timing, and where on the palate they land that resonate with me best.

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