Sometimes, a whisky comes along that you just can’t ignore. It makes you sit up, attention drawn, too intriguing and complex to taste once and pass along.

Sometimes, late in the year and just under the buzzer, a Whisky of the Year contender appears.

Found North Snow Day is now my highest-rated whisky of 2025. Let me explain.

First off, it simply tastes wonderful. The primary finishing casks for this are port - ruby, rose, and white - and the grain bill is 50% corn, 47% rye, and 3% malted barley. There are so few corn-forward and port-finished whiskies that are good: most lack balance, too thin or too syrupy or too sweet. A notable exception is another Whisky of the Year contender, the 2025 Angel’s Envy Cellar Collection Port-Finished Bourbon, so maybe this subcategory is finally getting some much-needed finessing.

Found North Snow Day First Flurry has enough corn for earthiness and sweetness, enough rye for spice and oiliness, and enough port for fullness. The smaller percentages of other components tamper and shape the sweet port and corn, elevate the rye, and continue to build the complexity. Which brings me to my next reason:

The blending skill is exceptional. I had the opportunity to discuss the process with Sammy Karachi, Head Blender, and access to the technical details (shared below with permission). There are 20 different components to this. 20.

Before the port finishing, the six core components were:

50% 2015 vintage rye in ex-bourbon
5% 22 year rye in ex-bourbon
28% 15 year corn aged in new wood
10% 22 year corn in ex-bourbon
6% 15 year corn in ex-bourbon
1% 20 year corn in ex-bourbon

This portion was matured in a mix of charred American oak and toasted French and European oak casks that held ruby, rose, and white ports for close to four months. Of the 37 barrels originally chosen, 29 were chosen to move forward. The other eight are being kept for another project down the line, don’t worry!

4 French Oak Ruby Port
6 European Oak Ruby Port
3 French Oak Rosé Port
2 French Oak White Port
6 Kelvin, New American Oak, Heavy Toast, Char #1
8 Kelvin, New American Oak, Heavy Toast, Char #2

Sammy and the team got to around 89.1% of the eventual product with this initial blend, but the last 10% needed what we decided to call “seasoning,” a sprinkle or barrel here and there of other things to complement and embolden the main blend. Those seasonings included barrel portions of Goldfinch and Peregrine First Flight Cognac Cask, two former Found North releases that in themselves had significant complexity. Then, two more corn blends were added. The final composition is:

89.1% blend of ryes and corns between 10 and 22 years aged in 4 different port-cask types and 2 new wood types
6.9% vatting of new wood and sauternes aged Goldfinch
1% single Peregrine First Flight cognac cask
1% blend of 22 year corn aged in new American oak and 26 year corn aged in Hungarian oak
2% blend of 2 different vintages of 19 year corn aged in ex-bourbon

In total, this means 20 component whiskies, ages ranging from 10-26 years, and 12 different cask types. I’ve seen brands try to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, using existing or leftover stocks to complete a Frankenstein; if you look only at the last breakdown, that’s what you might think. But I encourage you to listen to my interview with Sammy - there is thought at every step here, from the initial inspiration to each percentage point.

My final reason: intentionality. The difference between a sub-8 and 8-plus on my scale is experience and intentionality: did this whisky meet what the producers claim they wanted to achieve, and did it give me an experience of some kind that I know I will remember?

Each of the Found North founders come from the northeast, where the first snow of the season is excitedly anticipated and the idea of a snow day is a kid’s dream. Found North Snow Day has been a multi-year exploration, a concept that the guys all wanted to put out earlier but didn’t have the right components for until now. It started, according to Sammy, with rye, that warming, winter-friendly grain that screams snowy day pours. Then there was the port, a sweet fortified wine that requires the image of a fireplace to cross your vision. Beyond that, though, it took about three years for this to come to fruition.

Everything they claimed they sought, they achieved. This whisky had me in a leather chair by a fireplace after sundown, snow building against the windows in the dim light. I expected - maybe even wanted - this to be too sweet, even taking into consideration the skill I know the Found North team has. It’s easier to fail than succeed. But this was a masterstroke. For something with so many components and percentages, the experiential image is so clear. It doesn’t demand you to know how complex it is, just to appreciate how perfectly it all comes together.

A post-script reason that doesn’t factor into my ratings but deserves mention: this release won’t hit store shelves. Of the 8256 bottles in the estimated outturn, all will go through Found North’s email list. First chances go to people who support the brand, and if there are leftovers they’ll get a second shot at them. This is as much a reminiscence of childhood snow days as it is a love letter to Found North fans. If you’re not on the mailing list yet, go join - you won’t be penalized based on how long or how short you’ve been on it. Every bit of information you could want will be on the site for us nerds, and if you just want an exceptional whisky in a pretty bottle with an easy-to-read label, you’ll have that as well.

Now excuse me while I go buy one and hope that another finds its way to my cart.

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

Found North Snow Day First Flurry 10 Year Old Canadian Whisky: Specs

Classification: Canadian Whisky

Producer: Found North Whisky

Grain Bill: 50% Rye, 47% Corn, and 3% Malted Barley

Proof: 115º (57.5% ABV)

Age: 10 Years, Components up to 26 Years

Location: Canada

Found North Snow Day First Flurry 10 Year Old Canadian Whisky Price: $109.99

Official Website

Found North Snow Day First Flurry 10 Year Old Canadian Whisky: Tasting Notes

Eye: Grade A maple syrup. Medium rims and legs, medium globs.

Nose: Grape jelly, closer to real grapes than artificial flavoring. Sweet grilled corn cakes, hoe cakes with maple syrup. Blueberry pie filling and uncooked pie crust that still smells of butter. The sweet spices on a glazed ham (no ham, unfortunately, but there’s always next time!).

Palate: Jammy to the extreme, spiced mixed berry jam and mulled cider that’s been mulled almost too long. The port is a lovely element and it complements the strong corn, a balance that’s incredibly hard to hit with both generally being sweet. Roasted corn and grits, lots of cinnamon toast crunch, rye rolling through with a sharp edge to cut through the fatty sweetness, all flavors powerful and in balance. Medium body, mainly from the port, silky over the whole tongue, slight numbing on the front half.

Finish: Jammy corn cake with grape and blackberry chutney. Feels like I’m eating a breakfast in the south. Berry and corn creme brulee, starting to dry on the middle and back of my tongue. Medium-long finish.

Overall: They’ve done it again. Despite (because of?) the complexity involved, you’d think this would be overly worked, but no - it’s all the available flavors at full power with a counterpoint. Think a Mahler- or Wagner-esque symphony - there might be a thousand players, but it all comes together through exceptional orchestration and skill rather than devolving into a cacophony. There are so few successful port-and-corn-whisky pairings and a lot of poorly balanced ones, but Found North’s team uses the roasted corn, rye, and multitude of casks to perfection. At this point I’m just repeating myself. This is a top 10 whisky of the year, and if you don’t buy your bottle off the mailing list, I will.