The portion of the blend that used the High Altitude process finished in new American oak, and the four different port casks were composed of:
50% 2015 vintage rye in ex-bourbon (key component).
5% 22-year rye in new ex-bourbon.
28% 15-year corn in new American oak.
10 % 22-year corn in ex-bourbon.
6% 15-year corn in ex-bourbon.
1% 20-year corn in ex-bourbon.
This portion was further matured for nearly 4 months in 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 blend. 29 out of 37 barrels were used to complete the final rye component of the blend.
The final Snow Day 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.
Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested for about 20 minutes, and at Manager’s proof of 1.25mls (25 drops) of water to a 50ml (1.7 once) pour.
Distilled in Canada: Blended at cask strength and bottled by Found North Whisky. No additives, non-chill filtered.
Proof: 115.
Grain Ratio: 50% Corn/47 Rye/3% Malted Barley.
Price: $109.99.
Appearance: Dark copper.
Nose
The nose opens up with Black cherries and red berry reduction sauce, milk chocolate, toffee, and molasses. As the glass sits, more underlying notes develop, including orange citrus, peppermint, fennel, cloves, nutmeg, pecans, and cinnamon with subtle wood smoke. As the session continues, the oak and fruit notes become sweeter, with notes of butterscotch, chocolate-covered cherries, baked apples, and apricots. The blend is excellently well-balanced and complex with little proof heat. This nose is incredible.
Nose Manager’s Proof: Crème brulé, butterscotch, toffee, cherries, raspberries, and ripe apricots, vanilla, chocolate-covered raisins, orange slice, peppermint, cloves, nutmeg, toasted pecans, cinnamon spice, and a hint of wood smoke. Compared to cask strength (CS), the oak flavors become sweeter, as the fruit and herbal notes are less intense but more integrated with the oak. Here, I also picked up vanilla notes, which in CS I wasn’t really getting. The balance and profile are different but still fantastic.
Palate
With a creamy mouthfeel, the palate matches the nose with Luxardo cherries and red berries, toffee and chocolate, orange peel, cloves, peppermint, baked apples, pecans, and underlying wood smokiness. White pepper spice builds, lighting up the entire palate and carrying through long into the finish. There’s more rye spiciness than I expected from the nose, but it’s also well-rounded and doesn’t overpower the rest of the profile. Like the nose, the palate offers lots of delicious fruit and oak upfront, with rye flavors and spice, providing excellent balance and adding complexity to the profile.
Palate Manager’s Proof: Crème brulé, toffee, cherries, apricots, vanilla, tootsie roll, orange peel, peppermint, cloves, pecans, toasted oak, and cinnamon spice. The palate is similar to the nose, with much less spice, but still covers the whole palate
Finish
White pepper spice continues to tingle the palate with berries and apricot, chocolate, orange peel, peppermint, cloves, and toasted oak. The finish continues for a super long time, carrying a good amount of spice and berries along with worn leather and pipe tobacco with no bitterness. At the end, mature, musty oak hangs on the back palate.
Finish Manager’s Proof: Cinnamon spice lingers with cherries, apricot, peppermint, cloves, vanilla, and nutmeg. Tannins of leather and soft pipe tobacco emerge and take the lead until the very end of this long finish, carrying the spice with it. Compared to CS, it’s more subtle and rounded but still very long and satisfying.
Conclusion
Reading about what went into creating Snow Day showed how complex it was, even before I opened the bottle. But complexity on paper isn’t everything, and it doesn’t guarantee you’ll love the result. I haven’t experienced that with Found North, but I have with another brand. Cask strength, complex whisky needs at least a few pours to begin unlocking its potential, and Snow Day is no exception. After I got past the neck pour, a more consistent flavor profile emerged, but even those notes change focus from sip to sip, and that’s one of the things I love about it. Although Snow Day highlights the port wine finishings, it also beautifully incorporates the chocolate and rich caramel notes from the seasoned Kelvin American oak casks with the underlying herbaceous flavors from the Canadian rye.
Found North strongly recommends trying Snow Day at Manager’s Proof. Snow Day doesn’t have the Manager’s Proof info on the back label this time; instead, it’s on the Found North website. For my Manager’s Proof tasting session, I used two Aged and Ore 3-oz “Bottle Flight’s”, adding almost 2 ounces of Snow Day to each with 25 drops of water (Manager’s Proof), in one, and 10 drops of water (nearly half Manager’s Proof) to the other, then let them sit overnight. The result is that the whisky becomes a different experience, but in a good and interesting way. Adding 10 drops does just what you’d expect, putting Snow Day’s profile somewhere between Manager’s Proof and CS. The oak becomes slightly sweeter with notes of butterscotch and vanilla, while maintaining the same profile with less intensity and more balanced spice. Depending on my mood, my preference could be between CS and about half Manager’s Proof.
I’ve enjoyed seeing how much Found North has improved over the years, and Snow Day shows how far they’re willing to keep pushing the boundaries of what can be done with Canadian whisky. I feel like Found North as a brand is on a journey, and we’re all along for the ride, and I’m all for it. Snow Day is one of my favorite Found North releases, and that’s saying a lot! If you do love Canadian whisky, other Found North releases, or port-finished rye, I highly recommend Snow Day.
The notes taken for this review come from a bottle that Found North provided at no cost and without any stipulations. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Rating: 9.6/10.
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.
