Review by: DemiTastes

Among the small handful of whiskeys that made me fall in love with the category of American Single Malt Whiskey in 2021 was Westland Colere Edition 1, which featured Alba barley and had a lovely taste which was dominated (for me) by grilled pineapple. At the time, Westland was new to me as well so the distillery character of cask notes, distillate notes, and grain notes was intertwined with my experience of that specific release and particularly positively colored that first experience. Colere Edition 1 was indeed a lovely whiskey, and although I quite enjoyed that sample, I had also learned by then that I valued complexity and balance, and, considering that fact, I found the price point of that release quite a tough sticking point.

On the other hand, 2 years later, despite inflation and price increases across many brands, the lofty prices of the Outpost Range (Garryana, Colere, and now Solum) have not yet increased, and are at present, if anything, a better deal than they used to be.

I was able to try the Colere Edition 2 at the Garryana Edition 7 release party, but took my notes on an audio recording which I haven’t extracted yet, but it’s safe to say I liked Colere Edition 1 better than Edition 2. I was certainly not ready to give up on such an intriguing series of releases, however, and that was a good call: I can say with some certainty that Colere Edition 3 is my favorite Colere so far!

The Outpost Range is all about exploring some particular aspect of Westland’s whiskey production. Colere is about isolating the grain and exploring how best to present the flavors developed from different barley varietals. (For completeness, Garryana is about highlighting the use of Garryana oak, or Quercus garryana; and Solum is about highlighting Washington state’s own Skagit Valley peat as a source of smoke in the barley.)

Colere Edition 3 uses yet another different varietal, Pilot barley, and presents it having been aged in a series of 2nd-fill Westland and 2nd-fill Oloroso Sherry for approximately 3 and a half years. This lineup of 2nd-fill casks is music to my ears: I personally find the char note that comes from Westland’s virgin oak casks to be rather offputting, such that the more refill casks in the makeup, the better for my palate.

Westland explains Colere best:

(Whiskey product pages from producers’ websites sometimes have a tendency to disappear after a while, so for posterity, I’ve quoted the details about Colere Edition 3 from Westland’s Colere Page.)

With Colere, we set out to chart the direct impact of barley on flavor. Leaving behind the well-trod territory of ubiquitous grains, it begins to explore the thousands of new and forgotten varieties of barley whose flavor has yet to be considered, striving to capture the vibrancy and diversity of Pacific Northwest terroir through single malt whiskey.

Edition 3 utilizes Pilot barley, a 2-row variety that traces its lineage back to grain breeders in the United Kingdom. This barley has been selected for its benefits in the field and has introduced an herbal tea note. The singular use of the 2nd fill Oloroso hogshead gave this release backbone without distorting the barley-focused nature of the whiskey itself.

• RELEASE DATE: June 2023
• FORMAT: 700ml
• TOTAL BOTTLED: 4,629
• MINIMUM MATURATION TIME: 41 Months
• GRAIN BILL: Pilot Pale Malt
• CASK TYPES:
  • Refill Westland 93%
    • 2nd Fill Cooper’s Reserve (Heavy Toast/Light Char)
    • 2nd Fill Cooper’s Select (Light Toast/Heavy Char)
  • Refill Sherry (7%)
    • 2nd Fill Oloroso Hogshead
• YEAST STRAIN: Belgian Brewer’s Yeast

I was able to taste Colere Edition 3 as part of the Outpost Range flight sampled at an /r/bourbon meetup at Westland Distillery about 2.5 weeks ago on Friday, May 26th, 2023.

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Distillery: Westland Distillery

Bottler: Westland Distillery

Region/Style: Washington / American Single Malt Whiskey

ABV: 50%

Age: 3 years

Cask type: 93% 2nd-fill Westland; 7% 2nd-fill Oloroso Hogshead

Price: $183 after taxes in WA

Color: 0.5 yellow gold

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Nose: Marzipan, Meyer lemon, light fruit cocktail (maraschino cherry, peach, pear)

Palate: Stone fruit, particularly apricot is core to the profile, but nicely balanced; lightly toasted almonds, aeration reveals toasted wood, tea notes

Finish: light bitterness, stone fruit pits and skin, toasted wood

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Conclusion:

I really couldn’t get enough of the nose and palate on this one. The third installment in this series is definitely my favorite Colere so far. Garryana Edition 7 didn’t hold a candle to it (suffering in my opinion from that Westland virgin oak charcoal note), and Solum captivated me but I knew from the Washington-state peat alone that I’d be going home with a bottle of that one, so I spent the majority of my time at the event nosing and sipping Colere Edition 3.

Colere Edition 3 opens up slowly but unfolds beautiful layers of delicately sweet and floral fruits wrapped around a malty core with sherry accents of stone fruit and toasted nuts. It’s nicely balanced across delicately sweet, lightly tart, and delicately bitter (or, you might say, toasty), and yet the flavor is surprisingly full-bodied.

I really just wish the Outpost range wasn’t so incredibly expensive or I’d easily buy more of these releases, maybe if they rang in at around $130. On the other hand, that would be quite dangerous because I probably would buy more of these. This release still doesn’t quite top the 88+ score I really want it to be before I actually drop the cash on this pricey bottle. But I love the philosophy of developing flavorful barley (even at the expense of yield) instead of relying on yeast and cask alone to develop flavor in commodity barley.

Buy a bottle? Maybe. The price is quite high already, but the prices of the Outpost Range are only going to get higher. If you agree with the philosophy of cultivating forgotten varieties of grain and exploring their ability to produce flavor in whiskey, and it makes sense to you that it’s expensive to do so, then the value equation might work for you. But I think it’s worth tasting first to be sure you really like it enough to justify the spot on your shelf.

Final Score: 85

(DemiTastes Review #75, ASMW #30)

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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.