Review by: Whiskery Turnip
As my American Single Malt week begins its final approach, I turn to two more Westland releases to stay in the greater Seattle area.
Distillery: Westland.
Bottler: Distillery.
Region: United States/Washington Single Malt.
ABV: 51.5%.
Age: 7 Years. Distilled on 18 Aug. 2014, Bottled in April 2022.
Cask type: New Oak, Pineau des Charantes (3Y)
Nose: Big orchard fruit and milk chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, oatmeal cookies, vanilla extract, subtle toffee and blondie bars; with time, more red apples, cinnamon, and frothy coffee bar beverages.
Palate: Medium-bodied and very syrupy, big sweet sticky fruits, apples or pears in caramel, hazelnut and vanilla sugar syrups, subtle sweetened condensed milk, cake batter, tannic and drying over time, slightly bitter wood toward the end with hints of leather, toasted oak, and bakers chocolate.
Finish: Medium-length and quite drying with marzipan and oak.
Mental Image: Coffee Shop Sugar Rush
Conclusion: Working in a coffee shop during my undergraduate and master’s degree, I witnessed my fair share of people absolutely drown their coffee in sugar— be it inches of caramel sauce or ounces of flavored sugar syrups. Some of those orders even made the frozen blended coffee drinks look positively light on the sugar. Once or twice in those years, several of us working on shift together endeavored to recreate some of the wildest drinks we had made to see what they tasted like— if this person ordered the beverage every day, maybe there was something to it? While we occasionally found some serious gems, none were the sugar blasters this single malt brought to mind.
I have often thought I am a bit hyper-sensitive to the sweetness of whiskies, and I also used to dislike tannic drying whiskies. I have adjusted my expectations some over the years; I do not always mind a drying whisky, though I am still a bit sensitive to whiskies that come off as overly sugary, especially really sugary candies— I do not find candy corn a virtuous note. This Westland single malt demonstrated the limits of my shifting tastes; I thought this was overly sweet, almost an artificial sweetness at times, and far too tannic, so it began drying out the palate before I finished the sip.
Overall, not my favorite Westland. I attribute a lot of that to the three-year Pineau des Charantes finish on the malt; I love a good cask experiment, but I felt that the finishing period was a bit too long. It took a big tablespoon of water to see much change in the flavors. Considering this malt’s hefty mouthfeel and richness, I think it would be well-suited to big, bold cocktails.
Final Score: 60.
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 