Westward Oregon Stout Cask Finish

Review #090 Type: American single malt Proof: 46% Comments: No Age Statement, aged in new American Oak for approximately three years, then finished for up to one year in ex-Stout barrels sourced from local breweries. Tasted after: initial tasting Appearance (no score): Tawny color. Swirling shows a thick line that clings to the glass, with legs forming rapidly. Nose: 15/20 Nothing particularly strong stands out. Faint scents of flowers, honeysuckle, cereal grains, almond flour, and chocolate malted milk ball candies are present. These combine into a soft and inviting aroma. Palate: 30/40 Primarily milk chocolate, burnt caramel, and cinnamon, with subtle notes of stout beer and banana. It’s a collection of very rich flavors that I might have expected to meld well if I had only read about them. However, they don't, and there's something slightly unpleasant about it. Similar to a fantastic meal that was overcooked in the pan, leaving it dry. (Needs water, more details below!) Finish: 33/40 Medium-long finish. Begins with a brief burst of smooth vanilla. This quickly shifts to almonds, followed by a sprinkle of salt. The salt gradually fades, leaving notes of leather, tobacco, and a hint of smoke. Initially, the first few sips ended with the same malty aftertaste found in stout beer. Now, as I finish, I notice a cooling mint flavor instead. With Water: A few drops of water introduce light fruity notes to the nose, such as crisp red apples and underripe apricots. It also helps to round out the palate considerably; while I don't detect new flavors, it gains a juicy quality that significantly improves the integration of the existing ones. Total: 78/100 Final thoughts: This dram was not impressive until I added water. It's a prime example of needing just a few drops to reveal its character, so much so that I re-evaluated my palate score based on its transformative effect. Nevertheless, it didn't meet the expectations set by prior reviews; perhaps I built it up too much in my mind? I was anticipating a different flavor profile than what I've experienced from other stout cask finishes, and this spirit didn't interact with that finishing process in the way I had hoped, nor in a manner that compels me to recommend it. I'm fortunate to have purchased it on sale; it's still an enjoyable drink, but I would regret paying the $90 MSRP. Price: $65 Would recommend: no Would buy: no Scoring Legend: 96-100: Exceptional, divine, will be savored, 5 stars. 90-95: Nearly perfect, truly special, 4.75 stars. 85-89: Very good to amazing, nearly complete, 4.5 stars. 80-84: Quite good, enjoyable but not stunning, 4.25 stars. 75-79: Good, enjoyable but flawed, unlikely to repurchase, 4 stars. 70-74: Solid, wouldn't seek it out, 3.75 stars. 55-69: Drinkable, 3.5-2.75 stars. Below 55: Suitable for cooking or disposal, 2.5 stars or less.

To celebrate the 4th of July, I'm having Westward’s American Single Malt Stout Cask. I bought this bottle at the Westward tasting room in the Portland (OR) airport; it's a must-visit if you're passing through PDX. Westward uses a distinctive process: they begin with brewery yeast and mature their mash in new American oak barrels. They then give these barrels to local breweries for aging their beers. Later, they retrieve the barrels and use them to finish their whiskies. While I'm unsure about the beer barrel combination used for their standard single malt, this particular one is finished in stout casks. This method has produced a unique and genuinely delicious final product. On the nose, I detect fresh oak, caramel, orange zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Two elements are very apparent on the palate: the stout influence and the use of high-quality barrels, both contributing to a wonderful mouthfeel. The flavors include burnt sugar, oily vanilla bean, fresh orange, oak, cocoa nibs, and roasted chestnuts. The finish is toasty, roasty, and malty. This is a young whiskey (likely five years or less), yet it tastes significantly older and more sophisticated than anticipated. It's delightful. If this indicates what Westward has in store for the future, I'm very enthusiastic!

Tasted neat. The color is a deep brown copper with average coating legs. The aroma is rich with malted grain and chocolate, presenting as sweet and even floral, strongly evoking malted milk balls. On the palate, it's chocolate malted milk, sweet floral grain, and light white sugar, with a touch of smoke and an ethanol kick at the back. It has a coating, oily mouthfeel, rich and sweet. The finish offers more dark chocolate, oak barrel smoke, mild grassy spice, and a minty tingle. Overall, it's sweet, soft, and lingering. Westward is producing some excellent single malt whiskies. This particular expression, finished for an additional year in a barrel previously used by Oregon brewers for their stout beers, adopts chocolatey characteristics from the stout. It might be overly so. It's delicious, and chocolate enthusiasts will find it easy to drink, but it lacks complexity, with the nose, palate, and finish all heavily influenced by the creamy stout finish – like Whoppers from start to finish. Adding ice lessens the chocolate intensity, allowing more malt character to come through. I admire this stout cask finishing experiment, but it makes me appreciate Westward's standard single malt even more for its broader range of inherent flavors.

A layered American Single Malt from Westward Whiskey Distillery in Oregon, crafted by brewing pale ale from local Northwest malted barley, then concentrating it through double distillation in custom low-reflux pot stills. It's subsequently aged for a year in former ale and stout casks before being bottled at 46% ABV. The aromatic opening presents notes of grain, wood, fruit, nuts, herbs, and spices. Its rich and complex development adds flavors of roasted barley, biscuity malt, caramel, ale, banana, apricot, citrus, and mint. This culminates in a long and fruity conclusion with hints of oak, pepper, vanilla, stout, milk chocolate, almond toffee, creamy coffee, praline, maple, pecan, and malty cocoa.

The aroma is deeply intricate, engaging, enjoyable, and simply great all around, delivering citrus, spice, and fruity notes enveloped in chocolate – I wish I had a diffuser that smelled like this; I want my home to smell like this upon entry. The palate maintains a perfect balance of malt and beer with that same warm chocolate note interwoven with spices and fruit. The finish is most like the standard single malt, but with the cocoa note also present.

This was a store selection bottled at cask strength, 121.6 proof. The aroma was dominated by cacao or baking chocolate. The taste featured malty funk and dark chocolate battling for dominance, with baking spices filling the remaining space. There was almost a suggestion of spicy peppers, similar to those found in spicy Mexican chocolate stouts. The stout barrel seems to be responsible for most of these characteristics, as woody bitterness and chocolate notes define the finish.