Review: Found North Batch 003, 17y rye, 55.1%
Taking a break from my ECBP reviews to do a summery rye because it’s been hot here. This one has been on my shelf a while and I’ve been trying to decode it with small pours and experimenting w the rests etc. I landed on a standard 15m rest with no water for the review.
**Nose:** light honey, chamomile, unpeated scotch, light oak
**Palate:** green apple candy and Bartlett pear, beautiful old rye fruitiness, a backdrop of honey and straw, there’s a subtle unpeated scotch presence followed by the barest smokey tequila flavor.
**Finish:** nice long fade of the palate with evolving spice, return of the honey flavors, and a lingering heat that is in no way offensive. The last flavors I get before it fades out are all rye orchard fruit and honeyed camomile tea.
**Overall: 7.2/10**
This is a brilliantly blended whiskey. The palate is where the genius of the blending really shines and the fact that the blend marries so many finishes while keeping them all in the taste but not overwhelming the others is impressive. You get it before and after the sip but there’s really a journey to be taken in every sip if you really zero in on the flavors.
All that unfortunately doesn’t make this exponentially better than a lot of the 7 year single barrel ryes I have for the much higher price. Staves and grain r/bourbon, Stellum single barrel, even templeton 10 are similar levels of enjoyment for me and the added complexity doesn’t quite follow the ancient age statement and price increase. Is this a great whiskey? Totally. Am I glad I splurged on the bottle? Yeah. Would I buy another when this runs out? Probably not but I’m glad for the experience. Regret the purchase: not a bit.
t8ke Scoring Scale:
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
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