Westland Sherry Wood
46% ABV - Washington, United States
Nose: Wafting up right away is cherry chocolate—it’s quite delicious—and that is followed by strawberry, fruits, raisin, maple syrup, and some light citrus. Mild spice and oak.
Taste: The same notes here—the cherry chocolate—but it is followed by fruit compote and cinnamon.
Finish: Medium length. Fading fruits, oak, and spices.
I really love visiting the Westland Distillery to try their new offerings and single cask releases. Thankfully, we are quite close to Washingston State so any time we are in the Seattle area we are try and stop by. Although, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic we have not travelled there. Hopefully soon!
I think that the Sherry Wood American Single Malt is the best core range expression that Westland has… but I understand this one is no longer being produced, so if you have been waiting to pick one up then don’t delay too long!
Details (Official): 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 grains we source, we hold our sherry casks to high standards of quality. These casks held some of the world’s finest Pedro Ximénez and Olroso 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.
Tasting Notes (Official): Nose: Honey-dipped oatmeal raisin cookies, maple syrup, banana pancakes. Palate: Kiwi, maple syrup, raisins, sweet cookies, pastries, stewed yellow fruits.
Tasted 30 October 2022. (Posted 15 February 2023.)
