Review #517 - Found North Batch 011

The first of Found North's 'Batch' products for 2025 - this is Batch 011 (or code name "Fucking Blue," as it was known internally), an 18 year old cask strength whisky. There are always several components to Found North's blends, but this batch takes it up a notch with the use of 9 separate whiskies:

24 Year Corn whisky aged in new oak
24 Year Corn whisky aged in ex-bourbon barrels
23 Year Corn whisky aged in new oak
20 Year Corn whisky aged in ex-bourbon barrels
18 Year Corn whisky aged in new oak
18 Year Corn whisky aged in ex-bourbon barrels
19 Year Rye whisky aged in ex-bourbon barrels
19 Year Rye whisky aged in ex-bourbon barrels
20+ Year Old Peregrine First Flight whisky aged in new oak (1 cask)

Generally, the Found North team chooses to focus on one component as the core piece which they build the rest of the blend around; in this case, they opted to take a slightly different approach. For Batch 011, the core idea is highly aged corn components in new oak, with the goal of returning the style of one of their most seminal works: Batch 002.

Batch 002 was the first corn-heavy batch, as opposed to Batch 001, which focused much more on rye. The popularity of Batch 002 turned the company's focus toward corn-heavy batches, however, a trend that we've seen increasingly with time: batches 004, 006, 007, 008, and 009 were all corn-focused with rye as the secondary grain.

To replicate the style of Batch 002, Found North chose 4 components of the 9 to build around: a 24 year corn, 23 year corn, and 18 year corn whisky all matured in new oak, as well as one barrel of Peregrine First Flight spirit aged in new oak, which had been held back from the previous bottling as stock to round out a future batch. The rest of the components were aged in more mellow ex-bourbon casks, and two of the components were ryes, lending that spicy backbone that Found North whiskies are known for.

With all of the pieces combined, we get an overall mashbill of 91% corn, 8% rye, and 1% malted barley. The cask strength is a hefty 64.9% ABV (129.8 proof) - coincidentally, the same strength as the Batch 002 that they are trying to emulate.

The lottery drawing for Batch 011 will be available on Found North's website beginning April 1, 2025; it's a short entry window, as it closed just 2 days later on April 3. Distribution/sales is then set to start that same weekend, on April 4.

Disclaimer: This sample was provided by Found North for review at no cost. All opinions expressed in this review are our own.

Found North Batch 011

USA/Canada - Blend

Price (MSRP): USD 165 (2025)

Age Statement: 18 Years

Strength: 64.9% ABV

Cask Makeup: New American oak and ex-bourbon barrels

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added, bottled 2025; 7,968 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 1 month from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Sweeter - orange marmalade, spun sugar, tons of butterscotch and caramel. There's a bitterness coming from coffee and dark cocoa; the coffee note transitions toward more of a tiramisu dessert. Leathery oak grows stronger with time - lots of oak. After a long time: sweet cream soda.

Palate: A medium-thick mouthfeel with a great mix of sweet and spicy flavors. Butterscotch, fizzy cream soda, caramel, and maple syrup are balanced by spicy oak, lots of leather, a subtle wood smoke. Coffee returns from the nose, and then we get more creamy flavors - creme brulee, vanilla ice cream. At the end, hints of tannins and clove appear.

Finish: Warming, with cinnamon and strong oak - the spices begin to dominate in the finish. There's still a soft butterscotch sweetness, but leather, tea leaves, and tannins are the main flavors in the aftertaste; it's a very long finish.

Final Note: One of the reasons we love Found North's whiskies is the amazing complexity that each glass brings - layer after layer of flavor, and if you give it time to open up and breathe, it can entertain you for a long time. This Batch 011 is no exception - there's a great mix of strong oak, baking notes, sugars, and more.

The high strength means that all of those flavors are delivered with great intensity, and the mouthfeel is velvety and hefty. The finish on this seems to last forever, too - lots of strong oak and wood spice, but also subtle sweeter sugary notes mixed in.

Onto the value discussion: there's no way to get around it, this is an expensive whisky with a suggest retail price of $165. Is it worth that? Well, it is hard to find layers of flavor like this from other brands, so from that perspective, it could be worth it, and the numerical value score here is okay. That said, you can get 80% of the flavor from some whiskies that are much cheaper, so there are others that could present a better value proposition.

Our Average Rating: 8.9 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 6.44

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.