Milestone is born from whiskey drawn by Westward’s Master Blender Miles Munroe from a twenty-one barrel Solera system created exclusively for this offering. Used for centuries by European wine makers, the Solera method allows Westward to continuously age and blend some of its oldest whiskeys with rare cask types.

“With Milestone, we have selected our most distinctive whiskeys and crafted a 21-barrel Solera system of slow-proofed spirit that will continue to evolve over time to ensure our story and vision will also progress into the future,” said Westward Whiskey Master Blender Miles Munroe. “Pulling from the archives, we have integrated some of our oldest whiskeys with a selection of beautiful wine and wood finishes, both from our home near in Willamette Valley and from coveted winemaking regions around the world.”

Each year, Westward draws just a small fraction of the whiskey for the Milestone release, replacing it with another whiskey from the barrel house. Much like the idea of an infinity bottle, introducing new whiskeys into the Solera system while continuously blending small amounts of whiskey from one barrel into another creates an always evolving palette of Westward flavors. The result is that no two Milestone expressions are ever be the same. With each release year, Munroe captures a set of flavors that can never be reproduced.

As a follow-up to last year’s inaugural release, Edition No. 2 (97 proof) reflects an unrivaled expression of spice. Inspired by a visit to Taiwan and a street food pairing he experienced with each of the distillery’s flagship expressions, Munroe embarked on a journey to take the distillery’s  signature spice notes to new heights by incorporating exotic woods from their cask finishes.

For this 20th anniversary bottling, Milestone is packaged in a new custom glass bottle designed to reflect the company’s Northwest Heritage and echo the landscape of its terrain. The bottle is accompanied by a weighted closure sculpted with the company’s signature blackbird. Each bottle is individually numbered and placed in a gift box inspired by Westward’s Northwest heritage.“For twenty years, we have pushed the boundaries to elevate American whiskey. Harnessing this maker’s knowledge, we challenged ourselves to explore what the ultimate expression of Westward Whiskey could be,” said Westward Whiskey Founder & CEO Thomas Mooney. “Milestone is our masterpiece – a truly special whiskey that celebrates the legacy of our past and the promise of our future.”

Westward Whiskey Milestone Edition No. 2 – A Discovery of Spice is available now for $249.95.

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The release kicks off a broader company partnership with Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon (MESO), a Portland-based non-profit dedicated to improving the economic opportunities for underserved individuals through empowerment, education and entrepreneurship. 100% of the barrel proceeds will support the organization’s work in the Portland community and beyond.

Westward’s MESO Benefit Barrel was hand-picked by Lead Distiller Miles Munroe, who chose a milestone barrel, the American Single Malt producer’s thousandth barrel of whiskey, for this cause. Bottled at 100 proof, it is hand-signed by Munroe and distillery founder Christian Krogstad. The barrel will be available through Oregon liquor stores, Westward’s tasting rooms, and Westward’s online store on June 29, 2020, while supplies last.

As part of Westward’s partnership with MESO, the Portland-based distillery will launch a mentorship program to support the non-profit’s community of Black and minority-owned small businesses. Westward will tap into its leadership team, internal marketing and sales talent and agency partners to provide one-on-one mentoring to directly support these small business owners.

“In early June, Westward made a commitment to our colleagues, friends and community to do more to support our nation’s oldest and most pervasive pandemic of all, racism,” said Thomas Mooney, CEO and Co-Founder, Westward Whiskey. “As part of that promise, we sought to create programming to provide direct support to our community while also providing opportunities for the people who love our whiskey to get involved themselves. The launch of this program today, which includes the release of our MESO Benefit Barrel and the introduction of our MESO Mentorship program, is part of our promise to do just that.”

“We are thrilled to partner with the team at Westward Whiskey; this financial and mentorship commitment will go a long way to further our mission and provide direct support to Oregon’s underserved communities,” added MESO Executive Director Nita Shah. “As an independently-owned small business, we know Westward understands firsthand some of the challenges small business owners face; their insight and the financial commitment through the MESO Benefit Barrel will be of importance to the small business community we serve.”

Westward’s limited-edition MESO Benefit Barrel bottle is priced at $99.95 and can be purchased through Oregon liquor stores, Westward’s tasting rooms and Westward’s online store.

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