Westland Releases Sherried and Peated American Malts
Opened in 2010, Westland Distillery evokes the traditions of Scottish whisky produced with ingredients exclusively from the Pacific Northwest. Launched nationally in 2014, with the help of U.S. distributor Anchor Distilling Company, Westland’s flagship American Single Malt is now joined by two expressions – Westland Peated American Single Malt and Westland Sherry Wood Single Malt, both of which recently earned highest marks from the American Distilling Institute.
“Adding Sherry Wood and Peated expressions to our portfolio establishes Westland Distillery as the leader in this burgeoning movement of American Single Malt Whiskey,” says Emerson Lamb, President of Westland Distillery. “Our ‘trinity’ symbolizes our position as custodians of the single malt whiskey tradition, while at the same time progressive in quality, provenance and transparency. We are now one step closer to our ultimate goal of putting the state of Washington on the map as a world-class place to make single malt whiskey.”
With a base of pale malted barley grown in Washington State, Westland American Single Malt Whiskey is produced from a grain bill comprised of five different roasted and kilned malts. Inspired by the craft-brewing culture of the region, specialty malts are then added to impart notes of chocolate, nuts, cookies, pastries, mocha, caramel and raisins. A Belgian brewer’s yeast further enhances flavor development – creating fruity esters during fermentation. Finally, the whiskey is matured in the finest new American oak casks to round out the flavor profile with hints of vanilla, caramel and coconut.
Westland’s Peated expression is a bottling of two separate new-make spirits brought together after maturation. The first is made from a mash of peated malt, among the smokiest found in the New World; the second is from a mash of 100% Washington-grown pale malt. When combined, this single malt whiskey encompasses a wide spectrum of peaty and smoky flavors without overwhelming the palate. Westland’s Peated American Single Malt is filled into a variety of oak, including 1st-fill ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, encouraging a controlled and even maturation. The result is a multi-dimensional yet balanced peated single malt whiskey.
For the Sherry Wood American Single Malt Whiskey, Westland’s Master Distiller Matt Hofmann matures the whiskey in casks that began as American oak before traveling to Spain where it was first bent into staves for casks that would hold Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry for nearly a century. Once emptied, they were given new life and purpose in the skilled hands of Rafael Cabello and his team at Tonelería del Sur in Montilla, Spain. Westland’s long-standing partnership with the Cabello family-owned cooperage allows Westland access to one of the largest supplies of sherry casks from the Old World – casks that impart the whiskey with a decadence that intensifies both the malt and fruit notes indicative of Westland’s house style.
“The Westland Sherry Wood and Peated expressions perfectly compliment Westland’s flagship whiskey to give the most complete American single malt whiskey experience available,” says Nicholas Pollacchi, director of whisky, Anchor Distilling Company. “Try them and you will not be disappointed.”
