WESTWARD SINGLE MALT
Vienna Malt Release (2024)MASH BILL – 100% malted barley
PROOF – 90
AGE – 4 years 7 months
DISTILLERY – Westward Whiskey
PRICE – sample bottle (normally $100)
WORTH BUYING? – Had I, oh yes!
Westward is one of those the hits just keep comin’ distilleries. I’ve not had a single bad or even disappointing experience with their whiskeys. Naturally some releases have appealed to me more or less than others. But they are always top quality, rich in flavor, and balanced.
Invaluable to my journey with Westward was a tour of the distillery back in 2021, followed by an informative interview with founder Christian Krogstad. Krogstad began the tour by pouring a scoop of raw barley into my hand. It tasted a bit like Grape Nuts cereal. We then tried the distillate at each stage of its process before sampling through eight different releases. I was able to track that raw barley flavor straight through the various distillates and bottlings.
Now each time I try a new Westward release, there’s that core barley note, surrounded by the given release’s particularities. Whether it’s an idiosyncratic single barrel store pick, the standard cask strength release, a Tempranillo or other wine cask finishing, or a whiskey using sourdough yeast rather than their standard yeast, the fruity and nutty flavor of Westward’s standard two-row pale malt anchors the Westward style.
So imagine my delight when I heard Westward’s supplier had accidentally delivered Vienna malted barley instead of their standard two-row pale, and rather than send it back they decided to try it out! With their chosen barley at the center of their whiskeys, what would a different grain do to the Westward experience?
Here we are, just over three months after uncorking and about halfway through the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.
COLOR – pale and medium dirty oranges
NOSE – fruity and nutty barley, malt, dried honey, dried maple syrup, fresh cream, lemon, salt, vanilla taffy
TASTE – a thick creamy texture, with grapefruit peel, quince, cream, coffee, milk chocolate
FINISH – grapefruit pulp and peel, malt, cream, a bit of milk chocolate
OVERALL – sweet and bitter, fruity and nutty
Tasted blind I might guess I was sipping a St. George Single Malt. It’s the grapefruit and quince notes, combined with the thick creamy texture.
Up until this tasting, variations of chocolate were my dominant impression. Today the grapefruit aspects are taking the lead. Grapefruit notes can be bitter. But here the cream, nut, and fruit notes keep that bitterness in check. And in fact the more I sip it, the creamier the whiskey seems to become, in both taste and texture. There is a fine, mild prickly heat to the finish as well, which makes the citrus notes seem to sparkle just a bit.
At this point in my journey with Westward, I am fully inclined toward it in any variation. And I embrace my bias. It has been earned. This accidental Vienna malt whiskey isn’t a radical departure from their standard pale malt in terms of taste. It does up the chocolate ante, for sure. I will thoroughly enjoy this bottle, as I expected I would and have been. But as a fan, I’d be very open to Westward taking a radical departure from their norm. Not because I’m getting bored with them. Their whiskeys are consistently satisfying. But because when quality and adventure meet, wonderful things can sometimes happen.
Until then, cheers!
The Right Spirit 