PBMichiganWolverine
Westland Hand Filled Distillery Only 5 year Old Moscato Finish
American Single Malt — Washington , USA
Reviewed
April 4, 2018 (edited May 12, 2018)
Firstly, I need to apologize for the screwy upload of this. I’m a part of the beta testing to directly add new items. As you can see, just “Westland” isn’t a sufficient description. I meant to write “ Westland Hand filled distillery only 5 yr old Moscato finish”. And as you can also see, my picture positioning skills have much to be desired. Anyway...on to the review: so this is a distillery only, almost 5 year old, made from 5 types of barley, and aged in American oak before being transferred to moscato wine barrel. I love Westland for their creativity and adherence to local sourcing, and it shows in their quality. They do only one thing—-make single malt whiskey, and do it freakin well. No gin, no vodka, no beer, no bourbon. They were financed several years by early investors which afforded them not to provide a revenue stream till the whiskey matured, which is a rare luxury for new craft distilleries. And they don’t source their whiskey, instead opting to use only local Washington state barley (hey, High West and Wistlepig...take note). They’re actually doing some really cool things with local peat (yes, I was surprised to learn we Americans have peat!!?), as well with organic heirloom barley. In about 2 years, they’ll be the first whiskey makers to use heirloom barley from seeds over hundreds of years. That barley is blue...will be interesting to see the effect on whiskey. So, this distillery only bottling is unique...aromas of chocolate liqueur like Godiva, and an initial palette heat which soon settles into a Christmas cake flavor. Considering it’s their first 5 yr old (almost), and their only moscato finish...it’s a must-have if you’re a Westland fan. If you’ve had their previous products, this one puts those to shame. I’d say it’s in line , if not better, than their Garryana 2017. Superbly well made with care and quality at the forefront,
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Yes, Barrel # would help. I just got a bottle of this. Do you think there's any bottle shock on it? date acquired: 5/12/18
I just got a bottle of this. Do you think there's any bottle shock on it? date acquired: 5/12/18
if you can edit the main description please put barrel #4856 to easily distinguish it from others? thanks!
@mikael. Sweet thanks!
@mikael. Nice! Thank you!!
@mikael Brilliant - same boat here.
@Soba45 yep that's in the next release. testing it right now.
@mikael. Any luck getting a photo upload feature instead of camera photo only? I have 100+ listings to add in but given I don't have bottles to take pictures of I'm in a holding pattern loading new spirits wise. :-) Cheers
@PBMichiganWolverine updated the name for you :)
@PBMichiganWolverine - hopefully, some day we’ll be able to tell our wives that we drank the best whiskies in the world for free. 😊😊
@Rick_M my lord, that’s so not worth it. We’ve gotten to a point of sheer lunacy. If I were less emotionally attached, I’d sure as hell sell my Broras, Rosebanks, Hanyus, Karuizawas, and General
@PBMichiganWolverine - Compass Box General finished at £1250.00. Buyer paid $2,013 and seller received $1,663.
@Rick_M. Yeah—given a choice of peated Scottish or Peated Westland, it’s a no-brainer. But head to head against an American, it’s got the edge
@PBMichiganWolverine - just went back and reread your review of the Commemorative Peated. I knew I had read somewhere that someone was importing Islay peat. Your recommendation didn’t seem strong enough to get too excited.
@Rick_M yeah, but it’s not the same as Lag or Ardbeg style. More like a Caol Ila
@PBMichiganWolverine - I’m assuming far from Islay quality? However, some of the Bowmores aren’t that great.
@Rick_M they do. I tried two of them there—-Peated and The Peat Week one. The Peated is a mix of 20/80 Peated / nonpeated. The Peat week is all Peated. Out of the two, Peat week one was by far better.
@PBMichiganWolverine - do they have a peated whiskey yet?
@Generously_Paul yeah, I got us a bottle for our round 7 bonus. I’m looking forward to a bit more time with this one , considering I had 5 pours along with this during the visit.
Can’t wait to try it. Sounds like a distillery with integrity as well as creativity