Review #278 - Westland 'Thoughtfully Made' American Single Malt
Westland distillery's flagship single malt from their current lineup - this is aged a minimum of three years (40 months, in fact), but the cask influence is impressively strong, possibly hinting at some older whisky in the mix. Previously, there were three core range products: the American Oak, the Peated, and the Sherry Wood; this new standard bottling brings together pieces of all three.
Westland gives us quite a bit of information about the production of this whisky on their website. There are six types of barley used: Washington Select pale malt, Munich malt, 'Extra Special malt,' pale chocolate malt, brown malt, and Bairds heavily peated malt. They also use a variety of casks: new and used oak from Cooper's Reserve, first fill ex-bourbon casks, and first and second fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks (both hogsheads and butts).
There's quite a bit going on with this mashbill and cask regimen - will the end result be cohesive?
Westland 'Thoughtfully Made' American Single Malt
USA - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 52 (2023)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 55 (2024)
Age Statement: 3 Years
Strength: 46% ABV
Cask Makeup: New American oak, refill American oak, first fill ex-bourbon, first fill ex-Oloroso, and second fill ex-Oloroso casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 4 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Quite diverse in scents: chocolate, fruit, malt, and baking notes all in unison. Chocolate bars start us out, but then it's raspberries, oranges, candied strawberries, and medicinal grape; later, subtle apple can be found. Dry cinnamon, pepper, and brown sugar add the baking side; malt, wood smoke, and bubblegum are accents, and the whole experience is impressively well-rounded.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. Malty, chalky, sweet chocolate is the star of the show in this palate - it's quite strong, with accent flavors of chocolate syrup, smoky oak, and baking spices of vanilla and cinnamon. Fruits return, with chocolate-covered cherry and hints of orange. The texture is nice and velvety.
Finish: The finish is medium length, and that soft and velvety mouthfeel lingers. Lots of chocolate syrup and malt, and there's quite a bit of spice now: paprika, cinnamon, black pepper, and nutmeg are all strong. Once in a while, we found a hint of sake, as well.
Final Note: While the malty chocolate notes are strong, like we find in many American single malts with new oak aging, the fruity and baking spices flavors balance it out nicely. This whisky does manage to tie together all of the malt styles and cask styles into a nice, cohesive experience; each tasting was interesting, with the common thread of chocolate.
Value here is good - this is one of the most reasonably-priced American single malts, and Westland's quality shows through. If you're interested in exploring the category, this bottle will show you what the style can offer.
Our Average Rating: 7.1 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.50
Check out our other Westland reviews:
Review #144 - Westland American Oak Single Malt
