Westland Distillery opened in 2010, started by head distiller Matt Hoffman and Emerson Lamb. The core line of the distillery is made up of three single malts. This Westland Peated was first released in 2014 and is unusual because as experimental as American whiskey generally is, one element that’s almost never seen is peat. One of the more practical reasons for this is because peat is generally harvested from wetlands, and wetlands have been federally protected under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Thus, Westland imported peated barley from Scotland to add to their regular five-malt spirit to make this peated single malt. A fortunate loophole allowed them to recently start harvesting local Washington peat for future projects, but it will be a few more years before the results of that local element are released.
Whisky Wisdom: Jason Parker of Copperworks Distilling, Part 2
Join us as we continue our discussion with Copperworks Distilling co-founder and president Jason Parker. In this second part of our talk, we explore his favorite whiskies, the state of distilling in the US and where American whiskey might go in the future. Read on to find out more!
Whisky Wisdom: Jason Parker of Copperworks Distilling, Part 1
Whisky Wisdom continues the exploration of interesting people in the whisky world by talking with them to hear what they have to say. Copperworks Distilling, located on the waterfront in downtown Seattle, was founded in 2008 by Jason Parker and Micah Nutt. The following interview was transcribed from video by Rebecca R. and lightly edited.