Found North Batch 001

The components of this whiskey are an impressive line up. It starts with a 16 year rye aged in Hungarian oak, then a 17 year rye aged in ex-Speyside scotch casks and finally a 20 year corn whisky aged in refill for 13 years and then transferred to a level-2-char virgin oak for 7 years then the three were blended and bottled at 57.1% with a mash bill of 66% rye, 30% corn, 4% malted barley. Let's see how it all came together. The nose starts with a mix of blood orange flavored buttercream frosting with a background of tropical fruits and candied fennel seeds then toasted pumpernickel bagel followed by lemon zest, ruby red grapefruit, and sautéed apples that transitions to a light minerality, black pepper and pine needle covered forest floors with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with creamy and sweet tropical fruits before quickly veering into a moderate sour and bitter spice that then fades to butterscotch pudding, blood orange soda and wintergreen then fresh baked pumpernickel bread followed by lemon zest, ruby red grapefruit, and sour apple candy that transitions to a light minerality, black pepper and pine needle covered forest floors with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with charred pine cones, grilled pineapple, sour apple, candied ginger, spearmint and butterscotch pudding. Overall, this is a delicious whiskey with very well aged components that brings in interesting flavors of creamy sweets, tropical fruits, sour citrus and earthy forest rye, but the balance is slightly off with a higher bitter spice and the citrus leaning more on the sour side than I'd prefer. At $125, I'd rather buy another Alberta Cask Strength Rye for $80, but I tend to have a lower tolerance to bitter and sour flavors than most and can easily see this being a favorite of someone with a higher tolerance to those flavors than me.

The nose is citrus, sugar-crusted pound cake, something slightly herbal. The palate has grapefruit sprinkled with sugar, along with the light herbal note. Finishes with a little bit of the grapefruit bitterness, but it's not off-putting to me as a grapefruit fan. It's an enjoyable pour, and I'm grateful to @pkingmartin for the opportunity to try.