Found North’s Batch 012 hit shelves this June with an age statement of 16 years—the youngest whisky in the blend—and a price tag of around $150 for the 750ml bottle. This release is a blend of eleven different whisky components ranging from 16 to 22 years old, all corn and rye distillate from 2003, 2004, and 2009, with a mashbill that works out to roughly 86% corn, 13% rye, and 1% malted barley. Unlike some previous Found North batches, there is no secondary finishing in used wine, sherry, or cognac casks here; instead, the components were built around heavily toasted new oak. The backbone comes from a 2009 corn whisky reracked into ISC Cooper’s Reserve barrels (24-month air-seasoned new American oak, heavy toast, char #2), a roughly 22-year corn whisky in heavy-toast, char #1 new American oak from Kelvin Cooperage, and a roughly 21-year rye whisky in heavy-toast, char #3 new American oak from Chevalier. Several of the components also spent time finishing in toasted French oak casks before blending, which shows up clearly in the final glass. It all comes together at a hefty 128.2 proof (64.1% ABV), non-chill filtered with no color added.
Color is a nice solid amber, which shows the long aging of this Canadian whisky. On the swirl is a thick film and legs showing off the oiliness of this 128.2 proof whisky. On the nose, I get butterscotch, caramel, leather, and oak. Very inviting nose. On the palate, this whisky is very rich and syrupy, with caramel, butterscotch, orange bitters, roasted marshmallow, hints of English pipe tobacco, and a hint of baking spices. On the finish, the baking spice comes to the fore, along with a lot of oak tannin, including flavors that remind me of French oak, with some bitters in the background. Allowing the whisky to breathe helps integrate the flavors; the dram I poured two days after opening was smoother than the first.
Where this batch of Found North is different, at least to my palate, is that it lacks the fruit notes that are often present in Found North batches. That’s because there were no used finishing casks (think Cognac, Sherry, etc.) in this blend, so this is what I would call straight Found North. That being said, I differ from a lot of other reviewers out there who found this batch to be dessert-like. To me, this isn’t; it’s more of a whisky you would enjoy before a meal, or after a meal with a pipe or a cigar. This is probably the least sweet Found North batch I have tried to date, and it stands apart from Batch 10 and Batch 11, both of which leaned into cinnamon-roll sweetness and tropical or stone fruit notes from their ex-bourbon and new-wood components. It also lacks the dark fruit and grappa character I found in the Hell Diver release, which came from its PX Sherry and Cognac cask finishing. Batch 12 is a more austere, oak-driven expression, and I think it will reward drinkers who want their Found North savory rather than sweet. In that sense, the flavor is a little bit more bourbon like, whereas other Found North releases have been more like ultra aged American whiskies from Old Carter, Penelope, and others. I was definitely surprised by the flavor profile Batch 12 presents, but that is part of the fun in buying Found North releases-you know it is going to be good when you buy it, but you just don’t know what it will actually taste like until you open it. Found North is a whisky for the adventurous.