Westward was founded in 2004 by Christian Krogstad, the early days of American craft distilling. While inspired by elder whiskies such as scotch, Westward also is a proponent of exploration, where according to their website they “brew like a pale ale, distill like a single malt, and age like a bourbon.” Their whiskey is made using an American pale ale brew that is then distilled twice before being aged in charred new American oak barrels. The Westward American Single Malt is their flagship offering and the foundation for their other whiskies, which often have some kind of creative cask finishing.
Distillery: Westward
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 45%
Price: $69.95
Maturation: charred American oak
Location: Portland, Oregon
Nose: Pineapple guava, fig, simple syrup, barley, orange
Palate: Fig, barley, brown sugar, anise
Finish: Toffee, caramel, fig
Comments: Water is not needed.
Adam – I’ll admit, I’m surprised by the Westward American Single Malt. The nose especially is a bouquet of fruit, almost cloyingly so. Like breathing in an orchard or being in a farm house kitchen as all the harvesting is happening, where the wood of the kitchen table seems to trap that sweetness. Yet these fruits aren’t ones you might imagine from an American farm, least, so there is also a sense of exoticism in the nose. A reminder of places far away, the pineapple guava and figs evoking a Pacific seashore. It’s only when you take a sip that other sweetness arises, toffee and brown sugar to compliment the fig. This might be remarkable to have with the right kind of dessert. Thankfully there’s a little spice here, sprinkled in to keep the sweetness from getting carried away. If this is the distillery’s core spirit, I think it a remarkable foundation upon which to build a portfolio.
Kate – I get a lot of oak with the Westward American Single Malt, and bitterness, but this one takes it to the next level in a good way. It has sweet, toasty and spice notes to it. It’s not my favorite but I am pretty impressed. It’s like an unpeated Kilchoman Machir Bay on the nose, at least for me.
Bill – There’s something in the Westward American Single Malt, a sweetness that’s driving me a little bonkers because I haven’t identified it yet. Almost raisin but not. Maybe prune? Some bitterness but also some sweetness. Not that burnt sugar sweetness that is there but something distinctly different. I think prunes, the sweetness with the earthy. No! It’s anise, that is both sweet and bitter. A little spice along with the oak and tannins. But I like black coffee, so a little bitterness doesn’t ruin it for me.
Like breathing in an orchard or being in a farm house kitchen.
Henry – The nose is incredibly layered, from fig and feijoa (pineapple guava) on the surface to honeyed notes and stewed stone fruits deeper down. A strong astringency enters at mid-palate, competing with the stewed and fruit and finishing with an oaky, tannic dryness.
