Reviews of scotch and world whiskies by a history professor, his wife, bird, and three cats.

Westward 5 Year; K&L Wine Merchant Cask Selection

Westward 5 Year; K&L Wine Merchant Cask Selection

Whisky : Westward 5 Year; K&L Wine Merchant Cask Selection (B-236-11)

Country/Region : United States/Oregon

ABV : 65.5%

Cask : New American Oak #2 Char (B-236-11)

Age : 5 Years (Distilled 2013, Bottled 2018)

Nose : Pungent bouquet of rich dried vanilla pods, floral perfume, and toasty oak.  New leather, chicory, earthy ginger root, old tree stump, and raw honey follow along.  A bit of water brings out tobacco, chicory coffee, and an almost meaty richness.  

Palate : Medium to thick body, slightly oily with loads of oak tannins.  Flower buds, tobacco, wet vegetable garden soil, and earthy ginger root come through right away.  A few drops of water bring out brown sugar, molasses, treacle, rum raisin cake, cocoa nibs, and hints of cola on the end.  

Finish :  Lingering tannic dryness, warming heat, and sweet floral sugars.


Score : 6

Mental Image : Morning in the Garden

Something Similar : Compass Box No Name 2nd Ed. (similar ginger/herbs, more citrus/salt)

Something Worse : Glen Grant 30Y SMWS 9.149 (similar garden soil/tannins/berry, more spice)


Notes : An absolutely beautiful single cask that showcased the earthy, almost savory, undertones of Westward’s malt along with sweet vanilla and honey from toasted virgin American oak.  This was a firecracker that benefited from plenty of time to breath and a few drops of water.  While this was totally fine to drink at cask strength the flavor notes tended to hit one at a time like every member of a band playing a flavor solo— a few drops of water brought the whole orchestra harmoniously in at once.

I was excited when I saw this on the K&L website last summer.  I loved my experience tasting Westward Single Malt at the Portland airport the year before and I could not wait for the chance to try it again— especially at cask strength.  I bit the bullet and asked a friend to grab a bottle for me and then waited impatiently until they brought it to the islands.  The wait was worth it.  While I have not been quite as hot on the Westward Special Releases— none seem to compare to the ex-rum one my wife and I tried at the airport tasting bar— I remain an enthusiast of the distillery.  The core malt is chock full of delicious earth, tobacco, leather, and brown sugar and this single cask pick really shows off those notes.

Linkwood 12 Year SMWS 39.185 “Splinter-studded spanking”

Linkwood 12 Year SMWS 39.185 “Splinter-studded spanking”

Laphroaig 8 Year, Scotch Universe Io III

Laphroaig 8 Year, Scotch Universe Io III