Review by: Whiskery Turnip
Distillery: Westland.
Bottler: Distillery.
Region: United States/Washington Single Malt.
ABV: 56.34%. Cask Strength
Age: 5 Years. Bottled in 2021.
Cask type: New Garryana Oak, First Fill Bourbon, New American Oak; Finished in First Fill Washington Red Wine and First Fill Washington Port.
Nose: Big and malty with pastries, maple, and honey; stone fruits and dried plums pushed in before the aroma took an herbal turn toward pine and conifers— needles and cones; hints of rose and floral spice in the background.
Palate: Medium-bodied, tannic, and slightly drying, wood and woody resins, sour plums and dates, herbal spice with grapefruit and dried citrus rind, peppercorn and licorice, a kiss of cinnamon and clove appeared between pine needles and spruce tips.
Finish: Medium-length with sarsaparilla, a touch of pine, and unsweetened root beer syrup.
Mental Image: Sasquatch Birthday Bash.
Conclusion: I missed this release when it first came out, so it was lovely to finally get a chance to try it when a buddy brought their bottle out to a local whisky club tasting. Westland created this release by using three casks ranging from 5 to 7 years old. The casks reflected elements of Westland’s approach to whisky, with Garryana Oak (Oregon Oak), New American Oak, and First Fill Bourbon as the starting point, with some of that whisky then finished in Washington State Red Wine and Port casks. They also leveraged the different barley varietals and malting they have played with over the years so that the final product included Washington Select Pale Male, Alba, and their standard 5-malt.
This 2021 release celebrated the first ten years of Westland’s single malt and may have charted a course to the future with its bigger, oakier flavors. Indeed, the single-cask program has featured a lot of big wood bombs in the last couple of years, and this felt right at home among them. Westland has done a fair bit of the double maturation or cask finishing featured at the heart of this whisky lately.
Overall, not bad, though it was a bit too heavy on the oak for my taste— a common issue I seem to be having with Westland. This was clearly above average, and the influence of the Oregon oak still managed to peak out from behind the more substantial wine cask notes. A few drops of water helped break up some of the wood notes and pull out more distinct dried fruits.
Final Score: 80.
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 