Review #47 - Westland Peated American Single Malt

Peated American Single Malt Mini-Series: Part 1 of 4

Our next series revolves around single malts, which is the category we review the most; this time, however, it's American single malts, as opposed to Scotch, which can sometimes dominate the category. We'll be looking at four bottles in this category, and this time, it's all peated spirit, so there will be several variations on the smoky whisky formula.

The first in the queue is the peated version of Westland's single malt - this will be smoky, but according to the distillery, the amount of peated malt in the mashbill is actually outweighed by unpeated malt, most of it grown in or around Washington state. There are a number of types of malted barley involved, too: Washington Select Pale Malt, Munich Malt, "Extra Special Malt" (whatever that means), Pale Chocolate Malt, and Brown Malt. This also has an unusually long fermentation time around 144 hours, which should lead to some more flavor development.

There's no obvious age statement here, but in the finer print on the back label, it does disclose that all of the whisky in the bottle has been aged at least 36 months, giving us a 3 year age statement - not surprising, especially if they were using new charred oak barrels, which will have a much more dominant impact on the spirit in a short time when compared to the refill/used barrels typically employed in single malt production.

Westland Peated American Single Malt

USA - Single Malt

Current Locally Available Price: USD 80 (2023)

Age Statement: 3 Years

Strength: 46% ABV

Details: Non chill filtered and no color added

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 8 months; bottles at 80%, 30%, and 20% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Peat smoke is pretty mild to start, and instead the stronger notes in the beginning are oranges and a bit of a red fruit. There's almost this wine finish note, like some sulfur with that red fruit, even a hint of a meaty quality; then we're on to a bit of red apple and lemon, occasionally a stone fruit, to finish out the fruit section. There is a nice earthy taste to go along with some green peat - it's even slightly vegetal at times; still, we get some clear young spirit notes in here as well: a bit of grain, barley sugars, some sharper pungent notes. We end with some wood char and spices like cinnamon and vanilla... overall, this nose is nicely put together for a young American single malt, there's plenty to explore.

Palate: Peat smoke is immediately stronger on the palate: campfire smoke, a hint of ash, some mild meaty barbecue. That barbecue is more like dry rub as opposed to saucy, and it comes with a little more of that sulfur note as the palate opens up, some nice cozy warmth as well. The star of this palate, though, is wood notes: wood char, wood sugars, plenty of vanilla, and some white pepper are coming through. There's even bell pepper to go along with that white pepper, and then some fruity tones arrive, with bright orange coming to prominence. At the end, a bit of hot honey and some sharpness, and the mouthfeel is a medium thickness.

Finish: The finish is medium-long, and oils and peat linger from the palate for a while. Ashy, smoky, and a bit savory, and lightly warming. Lots of orange at the end, along with some cinnamon, and just a mild dry oak note to finish.

Final Note: This is a nice gateway to American single malts, especially the peated variety - if only all spirits aged only 3 years could be this nice and complex. Still, that does come at a cost; at $80 to $90 (at least in our geographic area), this is a bottle with premium pricing, and if you're looking for smoky single malts, there is plenty to be found in the world of Scotch at a more reasonable price. This whisky shows that the category of American single malts is developing quickly and moving in the right direction, but the value factor still has a way to go.

Our Average Rating: 7.2 / 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: 6.55