PRESS
One Nation Under Whisky
Matt returns to the pod to discuss agriculture, barley malting, heirloom barley, new whiskies and whisky making with Joshua and Jason.
GQ
A brave new world of single malt whiskey is opening up stateside, about as far from the bonnie shores as it’s possible to go. We met the man behind it to find out why his single malts can only be made way out west.
Market Watch
Though still very much a fledging category, American single malt is finding its footing and highlighting the country’s diverse landscape.
FRED MINNICK
Westland Distillery today announced the release of The Inheritance, a collection of ultra-rare single bottles of American Single Malt whiskey, each a one-of-a-kind expression that will be auctioned off online for charity on Thursday, April 1.
FORBES
Peat Week has been a tradition for Westland since 2015. The tribute to all things smoky includes special whisky releases as well as cocktail classes and tasting events. This year will be similar to previous years, except all those experiences will be online.
WHISKEY WASH
The Colere series explores the base element of single malts: barley. Barley has also often been considered an incidental in whiskey, but Westland sees more to it than that.
SEATTLE MET
Westland’s acclaimed Garryana American Single Malt only comes once a year. Find out how this local oak species is changing the future of whiskey.
INSIDE HOOK
For their new Outpost Range, Westland continues to work with wood outside of the traditional species of white oak the whiskey industry typically favors, instead relying on a tree native to the Pacific Northwest.
REUBEN'S SIGHTGLASS
Dive deep on the specifics of Westland's processes and ingredients, and explore the wonderful overlap of malt flavors that exist between the distillery and the beer community.
UPROXX
While you can always head to Scotland (figuratively) and grab a bottle of peated whiskies from one of the aforementioned distilleries, today we’re looking elsewhere for our smoky bottles.
SEVENFIFTY
With quality and terroir expression at an all-time high in the burgeoning category, producers continue to lobby for formal and consistent regulations.
USA TODAY | 10BEST
These craft distillers are hospitality heroes, selflessly stepping up to the plate to help save our country from COVID-19 at a time when they are in imminent danger of going out of business. With the raw materials needed already on hand, they're racing to make alcohol-based sanitizers for their colleagues, first responders and community.
SEVENFIFTY
What does barley contribute to the flavor profile of whiskey? It’s a question I was asking as a student, ten years ago, at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of the few academic centers to teach whiskey production at a high level.
PUNCH
With no real benchmark to look to, the panel of tasters gravitated toward expressions that managed to put a uniquely American stamp on the category, that is, those that attempted something other than carbon-copied Scotch whisky.
MENS JOURNAL
One of our favorite American distilleries has partnered with one of our favorite outdoor gear brands to make a limited edition bottle. Filson and Westland are a match made in whiskey heaven for a few reasons...
MAXIM
Three categories / trends in particular stand out: American Single Malts, the wild world of Innovations, and Bottled in Bond. Among the burgeoning number of options, including different cask finishes, mash bills, single barrels, and more, these are the bottles that we think should be on your radar.
DISTILLER
Westland Distillery, located in Seattle, Washington, pursues an all-Pacific Northwest ethos. The brand not only uses locally-grown peat, it has also experimented with indigenous Garryana oak. As for the grain, Westland goes beyond just using locally-grown barley.
FORBES
The first thing you need to know about Westland’s cult limited-edition single malt is that it is extremely difficult to find.
SCOTCH NOOB
"Anyone who reads a few of my reviews of American “craft” whisky will be familiar with my distaste for paying $50 to $70 for 3 year-old whisky that only roughly competes with more established bourbons and Scottish single malts."
BEVERAGE DYNAMICS
So if whiskey is made from grains grown similarly on a farm — with purpose and attention in where and how cultivation occurs— then why would terroir not also apply to distilled spirits?
FORBES
For Westland, innovation means prioritizing provenance as the driving conceptual force behind its whiskey production, leading to all kinds of delightful flavors as a result.
MALT IMPOSTOR
"For a moment I think I should get a thesaurus, but my Muse tells me “you got dis” and I decide to wing it. This is densified and complexificated!"
IMBIBE
Unlike bourbon or Scotch whisky, American single malt whiskey has no legal definition—yet. More than 100 member-producers have joined the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission...
VINEPAIR
American single malt whiskey sits squarely in the shadow of two behemoths: bourbon, a.k.a. America’s native spirit; and Scotch, an institution that has monopolized the single malt category for centuries.
BLOOMBERG
A growing interest in U.S. craft whiskey is helping make money for barley growers who previously planted the crop without the aim of making a profit.
BEVERAGE DYNAMICS
U.S. distilleries produce an impressive diversity of American single malt whiskey, yet the question remains — do consumers understand the category?
BEVERAGE MASTER
American single malt whiskey possesses a more pioneering spirit and is distinguished more by the style of whiskey than any particular geography.
BLOOMBERG
Don’t let a looming 25% (or more) price hike get you down, not when there are plenty of distilleries turning out delicious single malts right here in the U.S.
DISTILLER
The fourth in Westland's Native Oak Series, Garryana 4|1 once again features whiskey aged in Quercus garryana (Garry oak), an oak native to the Pacific Northwest.
FORTUNE
How This Pacific Northwest Distiller Is Making a New American Whiskey From the Ground Up
MALT IMPOSTOR
The nose is sweet, like an early morning in spring when the kids are staying at their grandparents’ house.
SCOTCHWHISKY.COM
It’s no longer enough for American craft distillers to simply make ‘good’ whiskey. With so much competition, distillers are challenging the conventions of tradition...
DAILY BEAST
Sherry is dying a slow death in front of our eyes. It’s now hard to believe that it was once a staple in bars and cocktail recipes, but in fact the Sherry Cobbler was truly a sensation in the 1800s.
SUNSET MAGAZINE
Terroir runs deeper than just roots. The interplay between soil and society—the cultural terroir—is what makes the West’s food and wine scene so distinctive and rewarding.
ESQUIRE
Washington's Westland Distillery leads our newly updated list of the country's top offerings.
WHISKEY WASH
American Single Malt is about exploration. And when it comes to that exploration, Westland Distillery of Seattle, Washington is a foundational driver of excellence in the category.
FORBES
Master distillers and blenders have come a long way, creating nuanced and complex all-American spirits. And it’ll keep on getting better. Here are five stellar made-in-the-USA whiskeys worth collecting.
MODERN FARMER
Westland Distillery wants to do more than produce an excellent single-malt whiskey; it wants to produce a whiskey that provides a true taste of the Pacific Northwest.
MEN'S JOURNAL
Bourbon lovers take note: Westland Distillery’s newest Garryana release may be the bottle that moves you into American single malts.
THE NEW FOOD ECONOMY
The future of the Garry oak tree is on the rocks. But a Seattle distillery has a neat plan to save it—with oak aging barrels.
SCOTCHWHISKY.COM
The master distiller and co-founder of Westland distillery in Seattle, US is focused on producing an authentically local single malt whiskey from the Pacific Northwest.
ICONS OF WHISKY
Whisky Magazine announced the 2018 winners of its Icons of Whisky America awards at a drinks reception in New York on 27 February 2018. Our very own Matt Hofmann was awarded Master Distiller / Blender of the Year.
FLAVIAR
Still in its infancy, this new category of Whiskey has tapped into America’s deep-rooted spirit of innovation and experimentation, with distilleries across the U.S. heeding its call in skyrocketing numbers. Surprise, surprise.
SCOTCHWHISKY.COM
When most people think of single malt, they imagine a glass of Scotch. Yet hundreds of distillers in the US are working hard to define their own style – in liquid and law – and it’s distinctly different from Scotch, and Bourbon.
NYLON
"Women are responsible for a great many things: Solar power. Computers. Whiskey. You probably didn’t see that last one coming, but it’s true. Women have always been part of whiskey’s history."
ALCOHOL PROFESSOR
SUSTAINABLE SPIRITS: Some of the brands who are doing their part to help save what’s left of the earth.
FILSON LIFE
"Seattle's Westland Distillery has made a name for itself by focusing on creating spirits that are a representation of it's Pacific Northwest roots."
DISTILLER
Although American single malt whiskeys use Scotch single malt whisky regulations as a guide, don’t expect them to taste like scotch.
SCOTCHWHISKY.COM
We had been sitting in the terminal, frantically trying to find alternative ways to get to Seattle as the ferry had docked with mechanical problems. It wasn’t looking good.
THE SPOKESMAN REVIEW
New frontier for craft U.S. whiskey may be underfoot in Olympic Peninsula bog.
VINE PAIR
8 of the best American Single Malt Whiskies: When you hear the term “single malt whiskey,” you likely think of Scotch whisky. But American distillers are taking up the single malt mantle as well.
MALT IMPOSTOR
"Wow. This nose is sultry and tangy like Katherine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn’s love child. There’s a pretty waxy note, like that on a letter sealed with wax and opened with great trepidation with an antique brass paper knife."
WHISKY ADVOCATE
Why - and How - Barley Matters in Whisky: “How boring would it be if all wine were Merlot?”
HUCKBERRY
How Westland Distillery is creating a new thirst for American single malt whiskies.
SCOTCHWHISKY.COM
Single malt whisky distillers around the world need to establish their own ‘true’ identity rather than copy the example set by Scotch, the master distiller of Seattle’s Westland distillery has said.
TASTE THE DRAM
Westland Distillery sets high standards for American Whiskey - Interview with Master Distiller Matt Hofmann
WHISKEY WASH
Well-known American single malt maker Westland out of Seattle, Washington, has toyed with Garry oak in some single cask releases, and now looks to be going deeper with the release of a dedicated bottling.
K&L WINE MERCHANTS
"To better understand just how committed Westland is to creating a better tasting single malt they invited me to accompany them north of Seattle to the Skagit Valley, a fertile farmland known mostly for its tulips."
EATER
The burgeoning, brave new world of whiskey that's now being explored is the domain of the American single malt. Jake Emen unpacks the emerging American single malt category and introduces 12 distilleries making an impact today.
FOOD & WINE MAGAZINE
For one driven distiller, the ancient peat bogs of the Northwest are the sludgy secret to a locavore single malt. Liz Crain visits Westland Distillery and a local Washington peat bog.
WHISKY MAGAZINE
Fred Minnick pays Westland a visit to learn (and write) about how we've harvested local peat to bring the first truly American peated malt to the world of whiskey.
FORBES
Westland's Co-Founder and Master Distiller is recognized as one of 30 tastemakers under 30 redefining food and drink In 2016.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
A thoughtful and engaging review of not only Westland's Sherry Wood American Single Malt Whiskey, but topic of malt whiskey fanaticism itself.
K&L WINE MERCHANTS
David Driscoll dubs Westland, whiskey's "New Hope" in a galaxy not so far away.
FORBES
Are you drinking the result of sexual confusion? Megy Karydes asks this provocative question when tasting Westland's American Single Malt Whiskey.
SEATTLE TIMES
An expose on Westland's partnership with other like-minded entrepreneurs and our collective pursuit to help redefine agriculture in America.
COOL HUNTING
An early review of Westland's American Single Malt Whiskey from none other than the cool folks at Cool Hunting.
SEATTLE MAGAZINE
AJ Rathbun sits down with Westland Master Distiller Matt Hofmann to ask some tough questions and share a few drams.
SEATTLE MAGAZINE
Washington is again on the forefront, helping to leading the new category of American Single Malt Whiskey.
JEW MALT
Our good friends offer a thoughtful and unique review of our whiskey and help us set the stage for the emergence of the American Single Malt Whiskey category.
IMBIBE
A rundown of the best whiskies from the Pacific Northwest, headlined by Westland Distillery.
WHISKYCAST
Renowned whiskey connoisseur Mark Gillespie profiles Westland Distillery and American Single Malt Whiskey...