Whisky : Westland 6 Year Ex-Syrah Cask 5410

Country/Region : United States

ABV : 57%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon/Westland (4Y), Ex-Syrah French Oak (2Y)

Age : 6 Year (Distilled June 2014, Bottled July 2020)

Nose : Big and fruity— grapes, raspberries, and slightly overripe blackberries.  Herbal notes of tropical hibiscus tea came into focus along with fruit leather, cassis, and blue berry champagne jelly.  Cocoa butter and white chocolate developed with a few drops of water along with milk tea and taro boba.

Palate : Oily and full bodied the palate was fruity and herbaceous.  Syrupy dried berries and powdered sugar dusted over toasty jam filled pastries.  Subtle notes of milk chocolate arrived on the mid palate with herbal tobacco and strong rooibos-hibiscus tea.  Sweet and dry at the end with notes of herbal tea and tapioca.

Finish :  Lingering musty berries and jam stuffed cookies dipped in tea.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Boba Tea Shop Loyalty Card

Notes :A fascinating and unique Westland.  This was one of the older single casks the distillery has released and it was aged in a French Oak cask that previously held Washington State Syrah wine.  The barley used was Westland’s Washington Pale Malt, which has not historically been my favorite, though I did love the recent Pale Malt-Oloroso combination.  I was excited to try this as it combined about as many Washington elements as possible.

This grew on me a bit, but I found myself varying wildly between love and hate.  I do not think I am a huge fan of Syrah wine casks and this reminded me a bit too much of the Westward Oregon Tempranillo Wine Cask with its strong berry notes and background cocoa.  The herbal-tea and tropical hibiscus notes of the Westland ultimately gave it the edge and pulled me around a bit.  The impression of taro pudding and boba milk tea was unique and like nothing I have had before.  There have been a few drams that approached the sensation of milk tea, but this just hit it right on the head.

Overall, a fascinating malt with loads of intriguing and unique notes.  Perhaps a bit sweet for my personal taste— I order my boba 1/4 sweetened or less— it was still a great bit of exploration and a fun comparison to some of the other American Single Malts I enjoyed in 2020.