Our Bombay Malt & Cigar club’s 2nd July session featured a Westland trio – with a rather interesting order…. starting 1st with the Peated, then their flagship American Oak followed by this – the Sherry Wood.

We sampled blind, with nothing revealed until after all three whiskies were given due consideration.

What did we find?

Westland Sherry Wood 46%

• Nose – When freshly opened, we were greeted with varnish, musty old furniture, old wood and polish which then began to shift into waxy fruits, on the edge of becoming over-ripe, mixed tropical fruits, some kiwis, honey nuts, Quality Street MacIntosh milk, mocha toffee
• Palate – Soft then the spice grows, lots of toffee, complex layers with depth, banoffee pie, spice, oily mouth feel
• Finish – A proper finish! Toffee or burnt caramel, stays
• Water – Brings out a super sweetness, a bit of spice, chocolate

Our conclusion was this was quite a tasty dram, with a good balance. It also paired well with the cigar… which is naturally rather important to the Bombay Malt & Cigar gents!

Here’s what the folks over at Westland have to say:

Westland’s Sherry Wood is a new world approach to an old world idea. For decades, the use of ex-sherry casks for whiskey maturation has been a favored technique in Scotland and beyond. In marrying the decadence of sherry with our unique grain-forward house style we create something altogether new.

 

Like the grain we source, we hold our sherry casks to high standards of quality. These casks held some of the world’s finest Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry for nearly a century and in the skilled hands of Rafael Cabello and his team at Tonelería del Sur in Montilla, Spain they have been given new life and purpose. Our long-standing partnership with his family-owned cooperage now provides us with one of the largest supplies of sherry casks in America.

And their tasting notes:

• The nose offers an immediate richness, with honey-dipped oatmeal raisin cookies. Maple syrup follows close behind, drizzled over banana pancakes.
• The palate initially offers some kiwi with more maple and raisin syrup notes. Extended tastings offer a dazzling array of sweet cookies and pastries, getting darker and richer with time before eventually ceding the palate to stewed yellow fruits on the finish.

The other Westland’s whiskies sampled in our trio included:

• Westland Peated 46%
• Westland American Oak 46%

Not enough Westland?  Check out other tasting experiences:

• Cask No 395 54.6% – Original Club in June 2015
• Sherry Wood 46% – Bombay Malt & Cigar Club in Oct 2016
• Single Malt 46% – Whisky Ladies in Feb 2017

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