Westward American Stout Cask Single Malt Whiskey 750ml

Westward Whiskey was founded in Portland, Oregon in 2004 by Christian Krogstad, at a time when only a few dozen distillers existed in the entire country. The distillery approaches whiskey with a brewer's mindset, building its base spirit more like a beer than a traditional malt, and it has since become one of the defining names in the American single malt category, a style still finding its identity apart from Scotch tradition.

Westward's base whiskey starts as a pale ale brewed from Pacific Northwest two-row malted barley, fermented with ale yeast, then double pot distilled and matured in new charred American oak. For the Stout Cask expression, that finished single malt spends an additional year resting in barrels traded with local Oregon breweries, which season them with stout beer before they come back to Westward. The result carries a clear stamp of the beer that shaped those casks.

The nose leads with a rush of dark chocolate. On the palate, cocoa and espresso mingle with toffee, dried cherry, and black pepper, while the stout influence adds a creamy texture with notes of oatmeal and dark bread. The finish runs long, bittersweet, and roasted, with a dry oak edge and a last trace of citrus peel.