Found North Hell Diver 2026 16yr Cask Strength Whisky

I walked into a saloon in New Orleans at 2am and sat down in a cracked maroon pleather booth. As I listened to the rugged, weathered voice of a woman singing a dark melancholy, I contemplated the space between the notes of my life and the blues.

Hell Diver 2026 is about that space between the notes, the transitions that move from one flavor to the next, leaving behind a lingering crystalized orange peel, burnt and discarded, but still sizzling blood red citrus. This whisky is like Big Bill Broonzy and the Glory of Love. There is no autotune. The twang of a broken toffee chord and the honey of his voice, mingling with the aged and cracked wood of an old guitar give the whisky the grit of Hell Diver and the humming blackberry clove of Found North.

Hell Diver Composition

By far the most important evolution of the 2026 Hell Diver was the introduction of Oloroso casks. Hell Diver has always focused on sherry casks and the predominant cask type of the 2026 release remains Pedro Ximénez sherry. However, the secondary cask maturation for Hell Diver First Flight and Hell Diver 2025 was Cognac casks, which provide a soft cushion of white fruit and a creamy foundation that helped to hold together those first two editions of Hell Diver.

In Hell Diver 2026, we replaced the affable Cognac casks with the far more domineering Oloroso.

We created a straightforward blend of 6 whiskies aged between 16 and 25 years. Alongside the Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso we used two different ISC, heavily toasted, new American oak types - Char #1 and Char #2.

Candidly, we avoided the temptation to overblend this whisky. We did not sand away every rough edge or dampen the intense flavors. Instead, we accentuated the densest notes, only slightly reining in the rowdiest flavors and letting the intensity of Pedro Ximénez sherry match the intensity of Oloroso sherry.

Component Composition

• 40% 16 year corn in Used American Oak
• 15% 20 year corn in Used American Oak
• 5% 25 year corn in Used American Oak
• 24% 16 year corn in New American Oak
• 12% 16 year rye in Used French Oak
• 4% 22 year corn in New American Oak

Cask Usage

• 71.84% First-fill Pedro Ximénez Sherry
• 11.05% First-fill Oloroso Sherry
• 12.83% ISC Cooper's Reserve, 24-month, Air-seasoned, Heavy Toast Char 2
• 4.27% ISC Cooper's Reserve, 24-month, Air-seasoned, Heavy Toast Char 1