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.