American whiskey | Whisky Lady

Can I simply admit I haven’t yet got on the American craft whiskey band-wagon? I’m just not a crazy bourbon fan… and while I certainly recognise there is some great stuff out there, most American whiskies just don’t seem to float my boat in the way a mature, complex, Scottish cask strength whisky does…

Til now… yes… this Westland just might make a convert out of me. I kid you not – it is that good.

Part of our June tasting trio, our host’s partner studied with the master distiller – Matt Hoffman – and they personally visited the ‘lab’ in Seattle to pick up this remarkable dram. Everything about it simply stood out and demanded undivided attention – in the best possible way.

Westland Whiskey (Whisky Lady)

Westland hand filled 54.6%

Cask strength, cask No 395, bottle no 365 which was hand filled by our host on 2/5/2015

Nose – Sweet peaty charcoal, fills up the glass with its aroma, prunes and plums, the kind of nose that makes you salivate and want to immediately dive in, a scent reminiscent of village life heating water in copper handis with a hint of smoke, fermentation… after it is left for a bit, we returned to discover freshly baked cookies
Taste – A bubbly champagne, like a bright proseco with a ‘zing’ that continues, dry, smokey quality that remains on the tongue, an odd yet pleasant astringentness, chilli with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, secretive ash, complicated, an odd yet likable old dry roasted puffed rice
Finish – Long… sweet and lingers with a delayed bitterness
Water – Spicy tarka

Here is a whiskey that is simply bursting with character! Very creative, complex, insanely interesting. While likely only three years, Westland has managed to produce a whisky people will definitely enjoy. In our opinion. this whisky is in the ‘watch out’ category as opposed to simply ‘interesting but…’ league.

Westland Cask No 395 (Whisky Lady)

Our host shared her experience visiting his lab in Seattle, enjoying an opportunity to sample a range of whiskies before picking this one – hand filling her own bottle. She described the new make spirit as ‘almost there’ even before maturing in new American oak casks – amazing. In part, this is a result of Matt’s practise of using Belgium yeast which gives the whiskies a slightly chocolate flavour.

There are few reviews out there of Westland and even fewer for Cask No 395 – which alas is now sold out. The official notes share:

The latest cask in our Hand-Filled series is Cask #395, filled with 30% of our signature 5-malt new make spirit and 70% peated new make spirit. Interestingly, the peated malt doesn’t dominate the character of the final whiskey. The 5-malt holds its own and more while the heavy toast/light char cask adds a nice third dimension to the overall profile.

FLAVOR PROFILE NOTES

This multi-dimensional whiskey has a lot to offer. The peat notes are floral and fruity with a mossy aroma on the nose, all underpinned by smoky barbecued meat. The presence of the 5-malt is exhibited by a backdrop of waffle cone with chocolate custard.

For more info, check out their website – Westland Distillery – Thoughtfully Made

Or see what others say about the distillery:

For many, the Westland was the highlight of our June 2015 monsoon tasting trio which also featured whiskies from Ireland and Scotland:

Monsoon trio – Tullamore DEW Phoenix, Westland Cask No 395, Ledaig 18 year (Whisky Lady)

Finally proper whisky drinking weather in Mumbai! A hint of chill in the sea breeze just in time for the marriage marathons and seasonal festivities of the December / January ‘seasons.’

Our last monthly malt meeting of 2014 had a decidedly American twang with two Bourbons and a Rye! Given that the US now has over 2,000 whiskey listings with 600 new distilleries, it is no surprise that there are plenty of options to sample.

As none of us had tried these American offerings, we dispensed with our usual blind tasting and merrily went straight for the bottles!

We toured three different states – Kentucky, New York and Colorado.

Russell’s Reserve

Russell’s Reserve 10 year 45%

Small batch Kentucky straight bourbon matured in ‘alligator-charred’ virgin American oak casks.

Colour – bright amber (don’t let the pic fool you!)
Nose – banana caramel desert, vanilla, spirity with a slightly peaty element, agarbati smoke, curry leaves with a faint hint of fresh mint sprigs
Taste – bitter kerela, baby puke sour, dry and oaky
Finish – still bitter
Water – BLAND, tamed the sharpness but added nothing new

Conclusion – A nice, easy drinking whisky. And we all enjoy a bit of that from time to time!

Rough Rider

Rough Rider ‘Bull Moose’ Three Barrel Rye, 45% cask select 1

Bottled in Long Island Spirits in New York.

This rye is matured only one year and is made from a mash of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, matured in 3 barrels – new American oak, straight bourbon cask, then finished in casks used to age Pine Barrens Single Malt Whiskey. The ‘Bull Moose’ name comes from the nickname of Roosevelt’s Progressive Party, formed in 1912. True Americana!

Colour – deeper amber than the Russell’s Reserve
Nose – lemon soapy scented bubble bath, fresh sawdust
Taste – poppins, ruafza, sweet on the tongue while harsh at the back, wine notes with a chardonnay brightness or gewürztraminer sweetness, smooth
Finish – very surface level, slightly sour

Observations:

One thought had slightly synthetic flavour
Another suggested would be best drunk at a brunch, paired with a lemon tart
For a one-year old baccha, not bad… but certainly not one to go into the favourites category

Breckenridge

Rocky Mountain Breckenridge Special Release 43%

From Colorado, Breckenridge is aged 2 years in charred new American oak barrels. Its key claim to fame is that it uses water from “snow melted from the rocky mountains.”

Nose – reassuringly bourbon banana sweet mellow raisins, fruity
Taste – the closest to being Scottish in taste, a bit chewy sweet, good whisky but no specific character hence slightly tricky to describe
Finish – light spicy finish

Best quote of the evening:

“Feel like cowboys / gals in leather chaps riding off to the sunset just like in those old Westerns. Yeehaw!”

Rough Rider, Breckenridge, Russel’s Reserve

And just when we thought the tastings for the evening was over… out popped a repeat from an earlier session consistent with our evenings theme – Blanton’s Single-Barrel Bourbon. With its trademark Blanton stoppers – we have yet to collect each in the series to see the race in action!

2014 brought several opportunities to sample brash whiskies from North America, however my personal preference remains single malts from Scotland or a few favourites from Ireland and Japan. You?

Other American whisky evenings: