Washington State is well known both for its winemaking and craft brewing traditions, so Westland focused on the two as part of its Cask Exploration Series in its continued commitment to bottling the Pacific Northwest “sense of place.”

Beer Cask Finish American Single Malt Whiskey Batch No. 2 is made with Westland’s signature five malt and Washington pale malt and matured 6-9 years in New American Oak
and ex-bourbon and ex-rye whiskey barrels. The 92 proof expression is finished in Stout/Porter, Brown Ale, Imperial Munich Lager and Foudre Ale barrels.

Wine Cask Finish American Single Malt Whiskey Batch No. 2 starts with Westland’s signature five malt mashbill and is matured for 5-9 years in first and second fill American Oak barrels. This 92 proof expression is finished in Tempranillo, WA Red Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot barrels.

“Westland set out to express the place we live,” says Shane Armstrong, Westland’s Master Blender. “The Cask Exploration Series extends that through collaboration with brewers and winemakers of the PNW – notes woven with our whiskey are pieces to the puzzle of our region. The second batch incorporates new varietals/beer types made from trusted Washington producers, continuing the connection from a different vantage.”

Originally launched in 2024, Westland’s Cask Exploration Series delves into the vast possibilities of cask finishing.

Available via e-commerce this August and nationwide this September, Westland’s Beer Cask Finish American Single Malt Whiskey, Batch No. 2 (12,840 total bottles) and Westland’s Wine Cask Finish American Single Malt Whiskey, Batch No. 2 (9,048 total bottles) will be available for $74.99.

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The week culminates with the release of the distillery’s annual festival bottling of its American Single Malt Whiskey, available exclusively at the distillery. Matured in a French Oak puncheon (a first for Westland), this year’s release boasts a single vision, a single cask, and a single opportunity to bask in the smoke.

“Cask 3369 marks our first foray into French Oak with its precise tannins and herbal spice,” explains Westland Distillery’s blender Shane Armstrong. “The cask was constructed to wine industry specifications; its medium toast and absence of char layer gives the spirit a distinctly weighty mouthfeel.”

The festivities began today (Jan. 21) with a symposium on the role of smoke in food. Panelists including Chef Edouardo Jordan of Salare and June Baby, Chef Kris Kim of Willows Inn, and Chef Mike Kramer and Pit Boss Matt David of Woodshop BBQ joined Westland’s Master Distiller Matt Hofmann for a discussion and tasting of various smoked foods and peated whiskies.

On Thursday (Jan. 23), the winners of Westland’s neighborhood-to-neighborhood Peated Cocktail Competition will compete at Cursed Oak to determine the best and most delicious Peated American Single Malt Cocktail in Seattle.

Only 590 bottles of this year’s Peat Week American Single Malt Release will be released for $99.99.

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While this release includes some casks traditionally used in whiskey-making, such as first-fill ex-rye and bourbon casks, the spotlight is squarely on the marriage of Garry oak and Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks. For the fourth installment of Garryana, Master Distiller Matt Hofmann and Blender Shane Armstrong wanted to explore whether these two rich and assertive flavors could live together in a single whiskey.

“This year’s release continues our inquiry and plants yet another marker in unchartered territory that still seems to have no horizon,” says Hofmann. “We sought to find out what happens when two of the deepest wells of flavor combine in one bottle.”

Just 3,750 bottles of Garryana 4|1 will be available in limited distribution globally.

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American Single Malt whiskies are gaining more and more attention. Whether it’s Colorado’s Stranahan’s or Seattle’s Westland Distillery, distillers are working hard to make the category as popular as other single malts.

In its quest to express the unique terroir of the Pacific Northwest, Westland’s Garryana series relies on the limited supply of the very rare Quercus garryana, a species of white oak that imparts a distinctive flavor profile to single malt whiskey. With the Saturday release (September 8) of Garryana 2018, Edition 3|1, Westland shows how how supply fluctuations challenged them.

Unlike the previous two editions, which married ratios of full-term matured Garry oak casks to traditional oak casks, the limited supply of Garry oak forced Master Distiller Matt Hofmann and Blender Shane Armstrong to employ a series of vattings and casks finishes for this year’s edition. The resulting whiskey features component whiskies that are each matured in a combination of casks. With a mash bill of 5-malt, Washington Select and heavily peated, the whiskey was aged in Garry oak, New American oak, 1st fill ex-bourbon, 1st fill ex-Port and refill ex-Westland casks.

“Each year, we must begin with assessing what is available to us, and then be open to following a path that the cask and the whiskies reveal,” explains Hofmann. “Because we cannot rely on a formula, we must be inventive in the ways we work with the supply in order to end up with a whiskey we are proud of.”

Just 1,638 bottles of Garryana 3|1 will be available in limited distribution nationwide for $149.99.

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