*Found North Hell Diver 2025 Bottle. Photo courtesy of Found North Whisky.*

This sample was provided by Found North Whisky at no cost. All opinions are my own.

Found North Hell Diver 2025 Canadian Whisky: Specs

Classification: Blend of Canadian Whiskies

Producer: Found North Whisky

Mashbill: 86% Corn, 13% Rye, 1% Malted Barley

Finishing Casks: Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Cognac, and New American Oak

Proof: 112.4º (56.2% ABV)

Age: 17 Years Old (Components 17-24 Years Old)

Location: Canada, Blended in the US

Found North Hell Diver 2025 Canadian Whisky Price: $169.99 (available by lottery)

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Found North Hell Diver 2025 Canadian Whisky: Tasting Notes

Eye: Honey with a tinge of amber red. Thin rims with thin legs and small teardrops.

Nose: Beautiful - fragrant and sweet, cognac with a fresh cinnamon stick adding spice. Honeyed and warm, mulling spices more so than proof. So complex, I keep getting different fruits and spice notes. Stone fruits and honey, mild rye herbs.

Palate: Wow - it doesn’t blow the palate out with proof the way some other high proof Canadians would (and some other Found North products have before calming down), it’s far more subtle. Don’t get me wrong, there’s heat, but it’s warming and welcoming before the sharpness starts to increase, slowly enough that you don’t get shocked by it. The flavor is not so subtle - the spiced honey explodes, baklava syrup in a glass steeped with freshly picked stone fruits (peaches, plums, a little cherry), with cinnamon and cloves, warming, with orange oil opening on the back palate. Walnuts and pistachios are background players with just enough power to add oily flavors and toasted nuttiness without making this a nut-forward whisky. A high proof charoset, perhaps? Red and orange wine, fruity, not at all oaky despite all the components being 17+ years old. Mouthfeel is coating with a medium body, all flavors continue to weave together.

Finish: Beautiful, again…it’s really the only word that comes to mind. Baking spices continue for several minutes like a lingering mulled wine, pistachio and walnut baklava clear as day. Cognac casks added a delightful fruit bouquet and just enough dryness to counter the sweet, prime season fruits. Fantastic.

Overall: This is my highest rated whisky in two years. It is complete, rounded, delicious, a masterclass of blending and of the potential of Canadian whisky. Or, rather, the achievement of that potential. It hits that Goldilocks zone of flavor, power, subtlety, and complexity. An instant Whisky of the Year frontrunner.