High Coast began producing whisky in 2010 after being founded by a group of whisky-interested friends in 2007. Situated in Sörviken, Sweden, the distillery is exposed to a high degree of temperature variance throughout the year, including some terrifically cold nights during the winter. From the beginning, the distillery has employed a patience, thoughtful, transparent philosophy to create a creative slate of offerings. In 2017, the Origins product line was begun, the core offerings that are most widely distributed (the Hav is also one of these). The High Coast Timmer was launched in 2020 and is made of peated barley (39-46ppm) matured in a variety of cask sizes for approximately seven years.
Nikka Whisky from the Barrel
Nikka Whisky was launched in 1940. Nikka is short for Nippon Kaju, slightly shortened from Dai Nippon Kaju or “The Great Japanese Juice Company”, the name of the corporation Masataka Taketsuru founded in 1934 after returning to Japan from Scotland and leaving Suntory after a decade to form his own business. This company sold apple products at first, while the whisky aged. Today, the brands produced under the Nikka umbrella come from the Miyagikyo and Yoichi distilleries primarily if they are made in Japan. The Nikka Whisky from the Barrel is made from a blend of 100 different batches of malt and grain whiskies to integrate the flavors and bottled at what is believed to be an ideal proofage.
Westland Sherry Wood
Westland Distillery was founded in 2010 in Seattle by Matt Hofmann, and the Westland Sherry Wood is one of the three core offerings, along with the Peated and American Single Malt. Like those offerings, the Sherry Wood was moved to the distillery’s Heritage Collection in 2022 to make room for a new signature single malt expression. The base spirit of this whiskey is the same as the American Single Malt, fermented with Belgian Saison Brewer’s yeast, but then finished in ex-Pedo Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks for an undisclosed amount of time. While there are supplies out on liquor store shelves and this single malt is still available for purchase via the distillery’s online store as of this review, there is no more being currently produced.