Review #649 - Found North 19 Year 'Ten Years of T8ke'

As a part of the celebration of Ten Years of T8ke, Jay West (u/t8ke) worked with several producers to curate a series of limited releases. One of those was Found North, a brand which he has worked with on numerous occasions over the last several years.

This cask strength, Canada-sourced blend carries an age statement of 19 years on the label, but it's made up of whiskies that range from 20 to 27 years old. Here's the full breakdown of the components:

20 year old rye whisky
22 year old corn whisky
23 year old corn whisky
24 year old corn whisky
27 year old corn whisky

Similar to Found North's High Altitude series, this whisky underwent a period of finishing and then re-blending before the final product was bottled. The finishing casks used for this batch were Port pipes, as well as a cask previously used in the famous 'Peregrine' batches.

At the end of re-blending, the cask strength sits at a hefty 63.2% ABV (126.4 proof), and as always with Found North, we get great bottling characteristics: there's no added color or other additives, and this is not chill filtered.

Found North 19 Year 'Ten Years of T8ke'

USA/Canada - Blend

Price: USD 230 (2025)

Age Statement: 20 Years

Strength: 63.2% ABV

Cask Makeup: Finished in Port pipes and a 'Peregrine' cask

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

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 1 month; bottles at 100%, 80%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Leather and lots of baking notes up front: caramel, graham crackers, butterscotch. Red berries like cranberry and blackberry arrive, and we get a nice spice element from nutmeg, licorice, and cinnamon. Bruleed sugar adds more sweetness; oak grows stronger and more drying with time,

Palate: Warming, with strong spicy oak up front - leathery, a bit tannic. Behind that, cola, root beer, blackberry jam, and maple syrup bring a dark, sweet complexion. Nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon add baking spice; fruit notes grow much stronger, adding blueberry compote, orange, seedy raspberry jam, and glazed strawberry. The mouthfeel is medium-thick.

Finish: More fruit jams or compotes: raspberry, some dark raisin. The oak grows much stronger in the finish, bringing layers of leather and wood spice; caramel and cinnamon add nuance in the aftertaste. It's a long, warm finish.

Final Note: Really delicious whisky - another excellent blend from Found North. The nose has great balance and a variety of flavors, while the explosion of berry fruits in the palate added a lot of sweetness. Like a lot of other Found North releases, that long maturation means that the finish dries out quite a bit with the strong oak influence; the texture is really great, quite syrupy. Very good depth of flavor, lots of layers to dig into.

Value suffers just a little bit since this is a very expensive bottle, but it is a great bottle - like other Found North releases, this is worth the splurge if you're looking for a premium whisky that delivers almost unrivaled flavor.

Our Average Rating: 8.6 / 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: 5.60

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.