Whisky : Westland Hand-filled No. 3204 (Peated Oloroso)

Country/Region : US/Washington

ABV : 60%

Cask : First Fill Oloroso Hogshead

Age : 4 Years

Nose : Fatty meat sizzling and smoking in a pan, caramelizing duck fat, sweet oiled leather.  The aroma is deliciously rich and meaty.  The wife, in two separate blind tastings, described it as ‘brown sugar bacon.’  Beyond the bonfire the oloroso lurks: rich brownies, chocolate covered espresso beans, black-cherry kool-aide.  It is a bit like a roaring fire on Christmas Eve, loads of holiday spices and fragrant wood smoke clear out the sinuses.  A bit of funky nitrogen and phosphate rich guano or bird poop peeks out between the smoke and sweet.

Palate : The body on this is thick with a nice oily character.  However, it is also young and therefore quite hot, bright, and spirited— it needs time and space in order to breath and really open up.  The almost waxy body opens with sweet ginger ale, tiramisu, sweet cherries, and burning pine logs.  The dram develops nicely over time and a bit of water brings forward additional oloroso notes like chocolate cake and coffee.  The palate had some great complexity in the form of almost astringent mineral notes and some earthy dried shiitake mushrooms.

Finish :  Lingering heat and dry sweet spices with a bit of bitter earth and herbs.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Cockatiel Solstice Celebration Bonfire

Something Better : Bowmore 1997 Distillery Manger’s Selection (richer, deeper layers, more umami)

Something Similar : Kilchoman 100% Islay (similar meaty bacon & earthy notes, less fruit, more spice)

Something Worse : Elements of Islay Peat & Sherry (similar rich profile, more fruit/sweet, less complex)

Notes : Every time I see Westland tweet about the latest Hand-Fill bottle available at the distillery my cat plays a tiny violin in honor of my ‘woe is me’ self pity knowing that I will not be stopping by to try it.  The cat used its cello to play a deep dirge when I saw there was a heavily peated first fill oloroso bottle available at the distillery.  However, cue the horns kitty, we can blow a triumphal toot to the whisky community and the great friends we make through it, because a beautiful sample of this hand-fill bottle and some additional distillery only Westland releases made there way to my glass.

This bottle was brilliant.  It is not the best Westland I have ever had, nor the best peated oloroso combo, but I would be pleased as punch to have a bottle of this to sip on.  There are so many layers of flavor lurking in the glass.  Time and a few drops of water change the nature of this quite a bit, tamping down fruits and smoke, to bring out rich chocolates and coffee.  A bit of salt and some savory earthiness give this a great deal of complexity.  The youth of the spirit might shine through a little bit much— the bold brash nature of youth are at once a virtue to savory— and a bit of a distraction from all of the wonderful layers. of flavor  The faint mineral notes that came near the end reminded me a bit of Springbank or Longrow.  Overall this was deep and rich, a joy to unpack.

Westland continues to impress, there is so much good spirit and promise at that distillery, that I will continue looking for chances to try their releases, especially the elusive hand-filled distillery shop exclusives.

Picture credit to Westland. Source is Westland’s Twitter account. A great account to follow in order to stay abreast the happenings in Seattle and the beating heart of the American Single Malt scene.