It’s no secret that America is in the grip of a craft distillery boom right now. According to the American Craft Spirits Association, there are over 770 craft distilleries in action across the US! Of course, many of these distilleries are producing brandies, eau de vies, vodkas and so forth, and so we shouldn’t instantly assume that it’s all whisky/whiskey. However, the number of distilleries that are actually profitable and creating more than a blip on the radar with consistent product is much, much smaller. Look at the distilleries making a whisk(e)y, much less a malt whisky, and the number is smaller still. Enter Westland whiskey…
When it comes to craft distilleries that are making a malt whisky on a scale that is garnering international attention, few rise above the pack more than Westland Distillery. Located in Seattle, Washington (right up in the very north-west corner of the USA), the distillery has been in production since June 2011.
The distillery has reached a position of stockholding and maturity that allows it to now present a “core range” of three different Westland whiskey expressions, styled as “American Oak”, “Peated Malt” and “Sherry Wood”. Of course, with so much focus and attention on new world whiskies (i.e. the malt whiskies coming out of countries like Australia, India, Taiwan, France, Switzerland, etc) the assumption by most average consumers is that everyone is doing it just like the Irish and the Scots, they’re just doing it in another country. And that’s where Westland is beating a very different path: Yes, they may be distilling malted barley in a copper still and maturing it in oak casks, but that’s just scratching the surface. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll discover they’re certainly doing things differently. For example, they’re using a mix of different malt types and assembling a grain bill; they’re using different yeasts; and they’re using a range of different casks for their maturation.
Their American Oak expression (their flagship release), for example, features the following:
- A grain bill featuring Washington Select Pale Malt, Munich Malt, Extra Special Malt, Pale Chocolate Malt, and Brown Malt. The Washington grown and malted barley represents 70% of the recipe; the other four grains make up the remaining 30%. These are kiln-dried or roasted at higher temperatures, and then all five are mashed, fermented, distilled and matured together.
- Belgian Brewer’s Yeast (as opposed to distillers’ yeasts used in Scotland)
- A fermentation time of 144 hours (compare with most Scottish distilleries employing 48-72 hour fermentations)
- Three different cask-types used for maturation, namely “Select” new American oak, “Reserve” new American oak, and 1st-fill ex-bourbon casks.
The Sherry Wood expression features the same five-malt grain bill, yeast, and fermentation time, but in addition to using Select & Reserve American oak, the spirit is also matured in ex-Oloroso hogsheads & butts, and ex-Pedro Ximenez hogsheads & butts.
The Peated Malt expression is effectively a vatting of two different campaigns, one using 100% Washington pale malt (described by Master Distiller Matt Hoffman as being similar to a “Highland-style” malt); the other is made with heavily peated malt (55ppm!) that is imported from Scotland.
All three of the Westland whiskey expressions are bottled at 46% ABV, and generally matured for just over 24 months. Courtesy of Alba Whisky, local distributors of Westland whiskey in Australia, Whisky & Wisdom received some samples of the three expressions, and took them out for a test drive. Here’s our thoughts….
American Oak
The nose is immediately familiar and throws up scents of malt, citrus, light oak, fruit flan, and a hint of caramel. The palate is sweet, full-bodied and – at first – seems incredibly akin to a Speyside whisky. However, it’s on the finish that the contribution of the darker roasted malts comes to the fore. There’s a roasted note to it, and anyone who’s smelled or tasted dark-roasted barley malt will instantly recognise it. This adds some dark chocolate notes and just a touch of bitterness, not too dissimilar to a porter-style ale.
Sherry Wood
The malt takes a slightly less dominant stance on the nose, and the unmistakable fruit and spice of sherry plays a forward role. It is good, clean sherry, and – like the American Oak expression before it – the nose alone would fool the majority of drinkers into thinking this came from a Speyside distillery. There’s some sweet apple crumble, soft oloroso, and it smells decadent. On the palate, the whisky has an oily texture, a slight grassiness, and hints of maple syrup. The finish is consistent with the palate and remarkably long. It’s a wonderfully balanced and integrated dram, and the sherry has been used wisely.
Peated Malt
Of course, the moment you put “peat” on the label, people will go looking for it. On the first nosing, any peat is subtle, and if you’re expecting an Islay heavyweight, you’ll be disappointed. However, let it sit for a few moments and a truly earthy, dry, and smouldering peatiness fills your nostrils. The palate is where this whisky really shines. Being a vatting of separately distilled peated and unpeated malts, the combination brings the best of both worlds, and whatever the ratio is, they’ve got it right. The palate is sweet, spicy, malt-driven, and yet carries a soft, dry smokiness and hints of embers, charcoal, and fireplaces. It delivers the malty smokiness of some of the medium-peated malts (e.g. Bowmore) but without the coastal, maritime notes. A real winner.
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When it comes to malt whiskies being produced in “new world” locations, one of the hardest things in this game is to judge and assess the whiskies on their own merit without comparing them (unfairly) to their Scottish counterparts. Will single malt Scotch reign eternally as the benchmark against which all new world whiskies will be judged? I hope not. (As an aside, the thought is anathema to most Australian distillers. As one distiller told me a few years back, “We’re not trying to make Scotch, we’re making Australian whisky!) Every distillery, naturally, sets out to do its own thing and to carve its own identity. Owners and distillers in these non-European countries can be inspired by established brands and seek to produce similarly styled whiskies, but I often wonder if it’s a compliment or an insult when you taste their whisky and say “Hey, this tastes just like a stunning Scotch!” Well, in this instance, it’s a compliment.
My point is, these three Westland whiskies are good. Very good. And, yes, I found them very much in the mould of some Scotch whiskies we’d all be familiar with. However, they of course offer something different, and the more heavily roasted malts used in the American Oak, together with the stronger influence of virgin oak casks, certainly give the whiskies a new and unique slant. The most impressive thing to my palate is the fact that they’ve created some wonderfully mature and complex whiskies with just 24 months in the oak. Bear in mind that Seattle is significantly further north than the traditional whiskey-producing states of Kentucky and Tennessee, and so unlike the Kavalans, Amruts, and Paul Johns of this world, Westland cannot merely rely on warmer temperatures to fast-track their maturation. (Even in the height of summer, average daily temperatures range from only 14 to 24 degrees Celsius, or 57 to 76 Fahrenheit). But anyone who dismisses these whiskies because they’re only two years old is doing their palate a disservice.
The beauty is, American distillers are not shackled by either the traditions or the regulations that limit and shape their European cousins. And the beauty of being a small-scale, craft distillery is that you’re also not shackled by the commercial realities and expectations that stifle the big-brand distilleries in Scotland. This permits innovation and experimentation and the results can clearly be very impressive. With time, Westland will obviously be in a position to have stock lain down for longer periods and to release whiskies with older age statements and more pronounced maturation. The trouble is, if they’re already making whiskey this good, I wonder how long they can remain “craft”?#
Cheers,
AD
# Update – January 2017: Well, as suspected, Westland’s whiskey was too good to remain craft! Drinks giant Remy Cointreau has acquired Westland and plans to expand the brand across the USA, and then globally.
PS: You might like our piece on another malt whiskey producer in the far north-west of the USA: Westward – The American single malt whiskey
