Given that Whiskey Jar had its 8th Birthday on Wednesday, I decided to review a bottle I have been sitting on for a couple of weeks, Found North’s Batch 11. It is a $170 bottle of whisky, so why not? Batch 11 is aged stated at 18 years, meaning that this the youngest whisky in the blend. Interestingly, none of the whisky in this batch was secondarily finished in another barrel; these were all either in new charred oak barrels or ex-bourbon casks. The whisky contains 18, 23 and 24 year corn components aged in new wood as well as a cask of Peregrine First Flight aged in new wood, and 18, 20 and 24 year corn in ex-Bourbon casks and two 19 year ryes. This whisky is a hefty 129.8 proof.

The color on this whisky is striking and you would swear it is bourbon and not Canadian. A very dark amber with big thick oily legs on the swirl. On the nose is baked cinnamon rolls and oak, along with some floral, honeycomb, and citrus fruit notes. The nose makes my mouth start to water. On the palate, lots of cinnanmon and bready yeast notes, papaya and tropical fruits, along with some candied cherry notes. The flavors on this whisky are amazing, and despite the long aging and high proof it is not overly astringent, and is less sweet than some other Found North releases. On the finish, cloves and oak really come to the fore, and as it fades, some dark chocolate and caramel show up.

This is a delightful whisky, and I continue to be impressed with what ultra-aged Canadian whisky can be. I also like how not gimmicky this particular batch is, with no particular finishing. Just an amazing blend of some fantastic whiskies. The trajectory of the whiskies Found North produces just continues to go up with each special or batch release. I finally had to bring myself to finish off my Batch 7 bottle so I could make room for this bottle on the living room bar.

And it’s hard for me to believe that I am have been writing about whiskey for eight years. Time flies when you are having fun.