Westland Peated Single Malt American Whiskey (700ml)

Westland's peated expression accounts for just 20% of the distillery's annual production. It's a vatting of two separate new-make spirits. The first is a mash of peated malt, among the smokiest produced in the new world (55ppm phenol content derived from U.S. peat bogs). The second comes from a mash of 100% Washington select pale malt. The result is a whiskey "...sturdy enough to satisfy the cravings of those looking for a solid dose of smoke", while the pale malt component contributes grainy and fruity notes. The whisky is matured in a variety of oak, including first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.

Tasting note: Brilliant gold. Really soft, pillowy peat - smells like gently smoked oatmeal biscuit or choc-chip cookie, with the peat more salient following five minutes air contact; hints of lanolin, moss and finally latent fruitiness comes to the fore. Pear drops? Rhubarb tart? Delicious, oily delivery with the sooty, cocoa-laced peat dripping from the barley. Fresh, lively and exceptionally soft. Ends as purring spices, sweet barley and hints of iodine are rounded off with a satisfying spirit warmth. 46% Alc./Vol.

Other reviews.... Amber color. Lively, creamy aromas of honey roasted nuts, creme brulee, dried fruits, and band aid with a soft, crisp, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a peppery, complex, long toasted grain, peat moss, pepper, and charcoal and iodine finish. A remarkably Scottish tasting US single malt.
94 points - www.tastings.com

...This young peated malt, aged at least 24 months, has a nice, dry peat smoke nose, backed by honey and oak. On the palate it’s disjointed: the young peat malt argues with the heavy char barrel, a struggle that needs more time to be worked out. Honeyed malt tries to lend support but everything topples in the mid-palate, where things turn dry, spicy, and slightly acidic. A medium finish wraps up a whiskey that simply needs more time.
87 points - www.maltadvocate.com (Fall 2015) Reviewed by: Geoffrey Kleinman

...lightly peated, polite and safe. The gristy sugars refuse to be thwarted.
91.5 points - Jim Murrays Whisky Bible 2016