Found North Peregrine 2024 Release
Mike Rosen

World

April 15, 2025

Peregrine is back with a blend of Canadian whisky based on the 2023 Peregrine First Flight release. Peregrine First Flight blended 20 to 27-year-old whiskies finished in ex-cognac, New American, French Limousin casks and has been my Found North GOAT. 2024 is a blend of 21 and 24-year-old rye with 23, 24, and 25-year-old corn, finished in Cognac and New American Oak casks. Found North says, “Reflecting on Peregrine First Flight, our goal for Peregrine 2024 was to provide more thickness to the mid-palate and dial back the black pepper on the finish. In pursuit of this goal, the 24 year rye was the key component. It provided a substantial foundation of spice without astringency, allowing us to lean heavily into the rest of the blend for texture and viscosity and to use a higher ratio of Cognac to New wood barrels for further maturation. After three additional months, we married all but one barrel to create the final blend. The resulting vintage carries itself with elegance, dynamism and vigor.”

I asked Nick Taylor, what makes this release a “Peregrine” as opposed to naming it after a different bird in the High-Altitude Collection? He said, “It is a Peregrine because of the cask regimen and the flavor profile. The initial blends will always be different, and we will continue to iterate within those parameters. The goal is not to recreate the same Peregrine from one release to the next. The goal is to explore the possibilities of old whisky aged in cognac and new wood casks.” This sounds like there could be future iterations of High Altitude Collection releases, such as Hover Hawk (Matured in Moscatel and New American Oak Casks) and Hell Diver (Finished in Sherry, Cognac, and New American Oak casks).

So, what’s the main difference between Found North’s regular Batch releases versus the High Altitude Collection? Nick says, “The two have fundamentally different approaches to further maturation and blending. Entire Batches are never finished in anything. Sometimes, we finish components, which become part of the blend, but we never take an entire Batch and put it into a new cask once it’s been blended—quite the opposite with the High Altitude collection. Once we create a blend for the High Altitude Collection, we’ll put it into different cask types for further maturation and then re-blend them. That’s the main difference between those two processes.” I’m curious how Peregrine 2024 stacks up to First Flight. Let’s get started!

The five components and cask types for Peregrine 2024 are :
21yr rye – Ex-bourbon casks.
24yr rye – Ex-bourbon casks (key component).
23yr corn – New wood, char level 2.
24yr corn – Ex-bourbon casks.
25yr corn – Ex-bourbon casks.

Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested for about 15 minutes.

Finishing: Cognac and New American oak casks (Kelvin Cooperage, heavy toast, char #3).

Distilled In Canada: Blended at cask strength and bottled by Found North Whisky. No additives, non-chill filtered.

Proof: 114.2.

Age: 21 to 25 years.

Grain Ratio: 78% Corn/21% Rye/1% Malted Barley.

Price: $224.99.

Appearance: Golden caramel.

Nose

The nose starts with red berry reduction sauce and apricots with rich chocolate-covered raisins. Underneath is a supporting layer of pecan pie and vanilla beans mixed with nutmeg, green tea and sage, cinnamon spice, and toasted oak. I love the flavors in this profile, but I can’t overstate how well-balanced they are. Red berries and chocolate slightly lead this profile but are almost equally matched by an abundance of toasted oak with vanilla and herbaceous flavors and a moderate amount of spice.

Palate

With a creamy, viscous mouthfeel, the nose matches the palate with red berries, peaches, rich chocolate, toasted oak, vanilla beans, green tea, and nutmeg. Cinnamon spice is moderate as it enters mid-sip, bringing in some toasted coconut and gaining momentum through the finish. This profile leans more into the Cognac finishing than I expected. Still, the fruit flavors are matched by a perfect balance of chocolate and toasted oak, with a complex blend of underlying flavors that give this profile depth with very little proof heat.

Finish

Cinnamon spice lingers for a very long time with berries, chocolate, raisins, toasted coconut, nutmeg, green tea, and vanilla. As the spice fades, the finish becomes dryer and much more oak-driven. Tannins of leather and tobacco take the lead, with berries hanging on mid-palate. I love this complex finish as flavors weave in and out, ending with more leathery oak than spice.

Conclusion

I asked Nick what makes this release a “Peregrine” because 2024 was more influenced by the Cognac finishing than expected. I initially thought it had more in common with other High Altitude releases like Hover Hawk. However, after comparing them, I found that 2024 and First Flight had more in common than I initially thought.

Peregrine 2024 to Hover Hawk
Hover Hawk shares many characteristics with Peregrine 2024 but has a fruitier Moscatel finishing. Both share a similar mouthfeel and complexity, but overall, Hover Hawk is sweeter, fruitier, and spicier. Peregrine 2024 is richer and darker with more oak and less spice.

Peregrine 2024 to Peregrine First Flight
First Flight emphasizes its barrel character flavors, with its fruit flavors sitting inside the mix. The fruit and herbaceous flavors in 2024 are more elevated, and the overall balance of flavors in each Peregrine is excellent. First Flight is slightly spicier on the palate and builds significantly more through the finish, carrying fruit, chocolate, and oak tannins like a boss. First Flight closes out the sip with a very long, excellent finish featuring spice, chocolate, dark tobacco, and oak with some dryness.

My slight preference for Peregrine 2024 over Hover Hawk was what I expected, but I had to compare the two Peregrines three times (two blind) to confirm my results. In the end, Peregrine First Flight remains the undefeated champion. Still, I want to take a step back by acknowledging that all three of these High Altitude releases are incredible, and at this point, I’m splitting hairs. By design, the High Altitude Collection releases are more complex and layered than Found North’s Batch releases, but that doesn’t mean I might prefer one of the Batch releases on any given day. Peregrine 2024 is another incredible release that showcases how Found North can consistently transform well-aged Canadian whiskey into something much greater than the sum of its parts.

Rating: 9.6/10.

The notes taken for this review come from a sample Found North provided me at no cost, without any stipulations, and from a retail bottle I purchased. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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 better exists.
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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