Whisky: Westward 4 Year, Lost Lantern 2022 Release

Country/Region: United States/Oregon

ABV: 60.5%

Cask: American Oak (28 mo.) Chardonnay Wine (20 mo.)

Age: 4 Years (Bottled 2020)

Nose: Berries, apricots, green plums, tobacco, milk chocolate, oak, butter cookies, crushed pecans, chocolate-covered berries, subtle earth.

Palate: Medium to full-bodied, syrupy and sweet, stone fruits, golden syrup, pecans, hefty oak, hints of pine and earth, mustier at the end with tobacco, orange peel, and pepper.

Finish:  Medium-long and drying with oak and stone fruit.

Score: 6

Mental Image: Fall Fruit Tinning in Action

Narrative & Notes: A country kitchen came together in my mind as the aroma drifted from berries and apricots ready for jam-making, green plums for pickling, and the sweet scent of tobacco and oak. Milk chocolate arrived first, though darker chocolate gradually developed with butter cookies, crushed raw pecans, and chocolate-dipped berries. Subtle earth threaded with tobacco throughout the nose. Medium to full-bodied, the palate was syrupy and sweet with stewed apricots, the occasional nectarine, and golden syrup. A lovely nuttiness popped with pecans before a hefty oak with hints of pine descended across the palate. The flavors grew mustier and slightly earthy at the end with chocolate, tobacco, orange peel, and pepper. The finish was medium to long and drying with oak and stone fruit.

While this dram had its subtleties, it was not a subtle affair. The new oak and chardonnay maturations provided a lot of lift for the fruitier elements of the Westward malt, and I was glad to see some of the tobacco notes still come through nicely. The flavor profile featured a good transition from fruits to nuts to oak and mustier notes with a touch of chocolate at the finish. While there was some spirited prickle at the end, it typically felt well-integrated as a pleasant peppery goodbye. The finish was drying, and the whisky was a few notches too oaky for my taste, but the general effect was quite nice.

Overall, a hefty malt from Westward and another lovely selection by Lost Lantern. Someday I would love to see some Westward malt that has not been doused in new oak for a few years before moving on to another maturation. I adore the malt and would love to see it in a refill cask of some sort.