Review by: dustbunna
I’ll be honest and tell you that I am still waiting for my bourbon/new-oak epiphanies. I’ve tried a handful of budget-to-decent bourbons and just haven’t connected with the style yet, at least not enough to go looking for something pricier. I’ve tried some other American single malts, too, and typically find them to be fairly sweet for my taste. This one was recommended to me by a friend who enjoys both bourbon and Scotch; Westland is located outside of Seattle, WA, and the Pacific Northwest is probably the part of the US closest to Scotland climate-wise. This is their basic entry-level bottling, using five different roast levels of malted barley and matured in a mix of virgin and first-fill American oak casks.
Distillery: Westland.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Pacific Northwest.
ABV: 46%.
Age: 2 years. Bottled in 2020.
Cask type: Vatting of new charred American oak and refill ex-Westland barrels.
Price: $70 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 3 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: fresh ground coffee, cherry jam, vanilla toffee, oak, toasted almonds, apple cider, some cidery/yeasty mustiness, black pepper, cherry cream candy.
Palate: full-bodied and creamy ~ cola, a bit of forest decay, more apple cider and oak, a bit of the roasted coffee pokes through.
Finish: medium length ~ warm and drying with cherry cordials, milk chocolate, a little bit spirit-forward on the tail end, touch of campfire char, bright and dry.
Conclusion: This is really interesting, for want of better words this style seems to strike a very good balance between the robust, sweet qualities of American spirit and the drier nuances of Scottish spirit. I tried this a few weeks ago up against Wild Turkey 101 and a Scottish single grain (independently bottled Cameronbridge) and felt that the Westland was considerably sweeter and less austere than the single grain, but not as bold and brash as the Wild Turkey, and showed off its coffee and cider notes in sharp contrast to both. It was my favorite of the evening, and I’ve found it to be a really nice contrast to sip against anything unpeated in my Scotch cabinet, whether primarily ex-bourbon or ex-sherry casking. It’s priced a bit on the high side locally to justify a repeat buy, and I didn’t fall head-over-heels in love with it, so I probably wouldn’t buy this specific one again. That said, I do think this was an excellent entry into what Westland does, and I’ll be looking to seek out more of what they make as there are several, at least on paper, that I think I might really enjoy (the Peated bottling and the single casks, in particular.)
Final Score: 79.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 