Sponsored Content Notice: This post is part of a paid partnership. The bottle was provided free of charge and compensation was provided. My tasting notes of this whiskey, however, are completely unedited and genuine.
On December 18th, 2024, American Single Malt whiskey achieved a major victory when The Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) ratified American Single Malt as an official whiskey category—the first new addition in over 50 years. American Single Malt (ASM) was already relatively self-governed among whiskey makers in the U.S., but the TTB ratification was critical for mainstream recognition and legitimacy of the style.
Seattle’s Westland Distillery had been preparing for that moment for over fifteen years, and the milestone 10th Edition of their Garryana series illustrates exactly why ASM is a critical part of American whiskey’s future. The 10th Edition of Garryana is not just a celebration of Westland’s groundbreaking use of native oak—it’s a statement to the rest of the whiskey world: American Single Malt stands alongside Scotland, Japan, Ireland, and other major producers as a peer and a category leader.
Defining American Single Malt
The standard of identity for American Single Malt should look familiar to fans of Scotch whisky and other single malt producing countries. To be labeled as American Single Malt, a whiskey must adhere to the following criteria:
- Made from a fermented mash of 100 percent malted barley, produced in the United States.
- Distilled at a single distillery in the United States.
- Distilled to a maximum of 160 proof.
- Aged in used, charred new, or uncharred new oak barrels (up to a 700-liter maximum capacity), stored only in the United States.
- No addition of neutral spirits.
- No additives allowed except for caramel coloring, which must be disclosed on the label.
In the case of Westland, the distillery has followed these guidelines since the very beginning, with a few creative twists.
All of Westland’s whiskey is made from 100% malted barley, but many of Westland’s products use a 5-malt grain bill that includes Washington Select Pale Malt, Munich Malt, Extra Special Malt, Pale Chocolate Malt, and Brown Malt. Unlike most single malt producers that stick to uniform and commoditized malt varietals, Westland’s expressive malt bill adds unique layers of flavor at the very beginning of the whiskey making process. Westland also employs the use of Belgian saison brewer’s yeast and slow, controlled fermentation to bring out fruity and citrusy qualities in their products. Finally, Westland’s unique use of Garry Oak has led to one of the most interesting American Single Malt series on the market.
The American Single Malt Torchbearer
Westland is one of the earliest American distilleries specifically built with single malt production in mind. Westland’s co-founders Matt Hofmann and Emerson Lamb spent time in Europe, learning the nuances of single malt production before opening their distillery in 2010. The first batch of whiskey was distilled on June 21, 2011. 2011 was also the first time Westland filled a cask made from Garry Oak. Little did they know at the time how important that decision would eventually be.
In 2016, right around the time the first edition of Garryana was released, Westland was one of the founding members of the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission. The ASMWC’s core mission is to define, protect, and spread awareness about American Single Malt, and their efforts eventually led to ASM’s formal recognition by the TTB.
Westland is passionate about their Pacific Northwest identity, working within the region to source local ingredients they can use to produce a truly local whiskey. Westland has partnered with the Bread Lab at WSU, Skagit Valley Malting, and local farmers to produce extremely specific grains that adhere to Westland’s vision. Westland’s peated whiskey is made with local peat from the Skagit Valley, bringing the concept of whiskey terroir to a whole new level. Finally, Westland’s use of Garry Oak is unique in the ASM world, allowing the Pacific Northwest to leave its imprint on their whiskey every step of the way.
Westland’s use of Garry Oak is done with conservation in mind. Only 3-5% of Garry Oak’s natural habitat remains, and Westland’s combination of ethical sourcing methods and active restoration efforts has set the stage for Garry Oak to not only survive, but thrive. For their efforts, Westland was awarded as the 2022 Sustainable Distillery of the Year from Icons of Whiskey magazine.
Westland’s product line has ebbed and flowed since their first whiskey was released, with products cycling in and out of production over the years. One product, however, has remained consistent since its inception in 2016.
A Decade Of Garryana
Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) is an oak species native to the Pacific Northwest, found in a narrow band from southern British Columbia through western Washington and into Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Compared to American white oak (Quercus alba), Garry Oak is difficult to use for whiskey making. There isn’t much of it to go around and the wood is typically brittle, twisted, and needs ample time to season before it can be used. In the past, Westland has sourced small lots of Garry Oak that were air seasoned for anywhere from three to seven years. Each year brings a unique challenge to find enough Garry Oak to sustain ongoing production efforts.
Flavorwise, Garry Oak has higher tannin levels than American white oak, and imparts spicy, savory, and roasted flavors to whiskey. These bold flavors require careful and delicate use of Garry Oak when creating each edition of Garryana. Westland has refined its use of Garry Oak over the years (given the other inputs at play) as the distillery grew and stocks aged.
Early editions of Garryana utilized more new oak than later editions, harnessing more oak-driven flavor in a shorter period of time. Garryana Edition 1, for example, was aged for 36 months and was comprised of 21% Virgin Garry Oak, 69% New American Oak, and just 10% ex-Bourbon casks.
By Edition 5, the breakdown was 36% Virgin Garry Oak to 64% first-fill ex-Bourbon casks and by Edition 8, the minimum age was 4 years, with a cask makeup of 38% Virgin Garry Oak to 62% used oak (PX, red wine, ex-bourbon).
Garryana 10th Edition is made up of 32% Garry Oak (both first and second fill), 22% ex-wine casks (PX, Tempranillo, Port), 21% ex-Westland casks, 17% ex-rum casks, and 8% first-fill ex-Bourbon casks. Each cask type tells a piece of the story of Garryana 10, with spice and bakery notes from the Garry Oak, intense sweetness from the wine casks, tropical fruits from the rum casks, and used casks that once held bourbon and ASM filling in the final pieces of the puzzle. This release also uses a combination of Westland’s five-malt grain bill and Washington Pale malts, with the pale malt components making up just over half of the grain that went into the final product.
Westland Garryana 10th Edition is bottled at 50% abv, is non-chill filtered, and has no added color.
Westland Garryana 10th Edition Tasting Notes
Garryana 10th Edition appears deep auburn in the glass.
This is pure baklava on the nose—with notes of puff pastry, walnut, a hint of pistachio, honey, clove, lemon and sugar. I also find a more mature version of my favorite classic Westland notes, including dark chocolate, ripe blueberry and blackberry, and raisins. The oak is uniquely spicy but fits in perfectly with this profile. With water, there’s a lot more clove and some mulling spice, along with winey sweetness from the PX casks.
On the palate, I find notes of decadent red berries, cinnamon, cotton candy, dried coconut, Nilla wafers, sugar-coated almonds, chocolate orange, lemon Mike and Ike, cherry syrup, rich oak. The palate is less pastry-focused and shifts heavily toward cookie and candy sweetness. Water brings additional berry notes, including cranberry and strawberry, followed by mocha and pipe tobacco.
The roasted maltiness that hits on the finish first reminds you that Westland’s 5-malt grain bill is special, followed by more deep spiced oak, grilled pineapple, sherry sweetness, red grapes, bananas foster, cacao nibs, waffle cone and more flaky pastry. With water, more raisins, prunes, leather, shortbread, and orange citrus add to a long and lingering finish.
Westland has spent the last 10 years working toward this moment, with each successive edition of Garryana building off the last. The Westland team’s understanding and thoughtful use of Garry Oak has clearly evolved over time and, in my opinion, their blending of component casks has improved exponentially over the last few years.
Garryana 10 is the oldest Westland product ever released and it’s their first aged stated product. They couldn’t have chosen a better whiskey to receive this honor. Garryana 10 is bold, complexly layered, and most importantly, true to the house style that first put the distillery on the map. It has been a pleasure watching the evolution of the series over time, and we may look back on this release as a major breakthrough in American Single Malt’s exposure and appeal to a mainstream audience.
I don’t know how Westland plans on topping this next year, but knowing them, I’m confident that they’ll find a way.
