Westward American Single Malt Cask Strength

Store Pick from Total Wine and More, Gilbert AZ. Nose is pungent with rum soaked fruit cake, vanilla custard, egg cream, golden raisin, rubber, pineapple, and papaya. Inviting enough, but lacks balance. Ethanol is very mild. Palate matches the nose well with lots of fruit notes as described above. Some hot butterscotch creeps in but the overall experience is spicy fruit. Is this a high ABV brandy? Because it tastes like it. Some barrel influence would be welcome, but it just isn’t there. Finish is hot and prickly with…you know what? I could try to be creative here but honestly it just tastes like unattenuated alcohol. Really beat up my tongue after a while and gave me heartburn to boot. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and neither slick nor grainy. Oof. I paid $109 for this hot mess express. Needless to say never again. If this is a store pick, I’d hate to see the regular. The closest comparison to this is Stranahans Single Malt, which does a similar fruity single malt profile with much more finesse. This just seems clumsy in comparison. Going to be a struggle to finish the bottle.

Very hot on the nose, and the finish. There is a redeeming section in the middle, though.

Very medicinal and fruity nose with a lot of oak. Taste comes in medicinal but moves into dark raisins in an unpleasant way. The finish is the worst part, it has a finish and aftertaste I can only describe as “rotten”. It’s very smooth for 125 proof but the flavors are just not pleasant.

Fire!

Complex and sweet considering the proof. This is very harsh on the palate but once you get through that it is quite the treat. You may want to try it on an ice ball if its too harsh for your liking