Westland Sherry Wood American Single Malt
Whisky : Westland Sherry Wood
Country/Region : Washington/US
ABV : 46%
Cask : Ex-Oloroso/Pedro Ximénez Hogsheads/Butts & New American Oak
Nose : Rich and sweet, there is no escaping the prominent sherry influence. Sweet raisins, sultanas, dates, and berries lead the way. A lovely maltiness and sweet molasses combine with raisins to give the impression of warm oatmeal cookies. Floral orange blossom, cherry preserves, and thick maple syrup provide more depth the rich sweetness.
Palate : Medium bodied with loads of dried sweet fruits— raisins, berries, and cherries. Dry baking spices develop over time with lovely cinnamon sticks, cloves, and nutmeg. There is little escaping the winter holiday flavor of a spiced Christmas cake.
Finish : Lingering bitter dark coffee that eventually drops and leaves behind a floral honey sweetness.
Score : 6
Mental Image : Molasses Cookies.
Something Better : Ledaig 13 Year Single Malts of Scotland (similar sweet Christmas, more salt/meat)
Something Similar : Westland Cask #2479 K&L (similar oatmeal cookies, dried fruit, not as rich)
Something Worse : Westland Garryana 4.1 (similar Christmas spices and fruits, sweeter, less malty)
Notes : This was quite tasty— almost unexpectedly refined and well balanced. If the core Westland single malts are a superhero trio then the American Oak is the versatile and full bodied muscle of the troop, the Peated a rather odd mutant duck, and the Sherry Wood the wealthy and refined genius. This has an excellent balance of sweet-dry sherry influence alongside vanilla notes from virgin oak, and the rich maltiness of the spirit. It is probably my favorite product in the core range— it has a lovely complexity without feeling overly complicated or as if the flavors were stepping on one another.
If I was surprised how much I enjoyed this, I was even more surprised that my wife thought it really pleasurable to sip on. She is particularly averse to sweeter scotch— there is a narrow band of sweet malts that she enjoys. She is like a cat that only wants to be scratched in one particular spot… anything else and you risk getting bit. This had enough malty character— chewy cereal depth— that even she thought it was nicely balanced. The Sherry Wood was easily her favorite of the core range, the American Oak she found a bit too sweet and simple (though I disagree), the Peated she found a bit boring and argued that it lacked the complex maritime notes she enjoys. The Sherry Wood hit the sweet spot for her, far and away beating out the sherry influenced Garryana 2019, which she found overly sweet and syrupy.
Westland prizes their relationship with sherry producers and endeavors to only use casks that were actually used to age sherry. They avoid reliance on seasoned casks and therefore have a relatively limited, and not terribly renewable, supply of sherry casks for aging their single malt. So it is hard not to wonder if this product will remain part of the core range in the long term. Their attention to detail really shines in this product— it is well balanced and shows off a rich sherry character. It was a pleasant surprise and I will be hard pressed not to grab a bottle next time I am in the store.
