This was one of the few Westland I have ever countered that spent its entire life in a refill cask, and it happens to be a sibling cask to one I picked up as a handfill at the distillery back in winter 2019. That bottle is somewhere in the whisky closet… so this should be a good reminder of what it was all about and provide a bit of motivation to dig it out at some point.

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Whisky: Westland 5 Year (2015) Cask 886 for Davidson’s Liquors

Country/Region: United States/Washington

ABV: 63.9%

Cask: Refill Barrel

Age: 5 Years (Distilled 2015, Bottled 2021)

Notes: Orchard fruits and pie crust got things started with fruity almond extract hiding behind ribbons of caramel. The aroma had a spirited tingle and pepperiness, a rawness really, that occasionally veered toward freshly milled lumber and sawdust. Milk chocolate and herbal spices, perhaps a touch of fennel, developed with time as orchard fruits, nuts, and caramel provided a consistent backbone. Medium-bodied and oily on the palate, orchard fruits and almond extract arrived with a spirited pepperiness. This was hot, though water quenched some of the burn to bring out more malty pastries dressed with caramel and vanilla. Crushed nuts, sliced pears, and quince jam lingered toward the end.  The finish was medium to long, drying, and peppery with pie crust and pears.

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Score: 5 (74)

Mental Image: Taste Testing Ghost Pepper Apple Pies

Conclusion: Okay, this was about how I remember my bottle— spirited, youthful, and a bit unrefined. That was probably why the whisky ended up in the back of the closet, though I do fully intend to bring it out once I clear the Westlands I have open. While I did not score this terribly high, I would love to see more like it, especially with more time in the cask. The 8-10 Year Westland that I have reviewed were generally lovely, albeit overly reliant on big cask driven profiles for my taste— how would those have felt with a more gentle refill maturation? McCarthy’s certainly does wonderful things with second and third fill Oregon Oak, so it must be possible. Of course, maybe trials at Westland have shown it just does not work for their spirit, and that is why we have never seen it… but I would sure love to find out for myself.