A whisky I tried a little while ago, when sitting outside in the shade on a warm day. Sounds like the perfect setting for American whisky to me!

This one was part of a tasting I tried participating in a long time ago, of which the samples had been forgotten. History became legend. Legend became myth. But let’s not let our expectations get the better of us.

Westward distillery is based in Portland (Oregon, not Maine, that would have been Eastward). They’ve been making whisky since 2004, and are quite high on Norbert Tebarts’ radar for American whisky. So much so that he bottled two casks for the Whisky Tasting Festival (WTF) last year. This one is not from that batch, although this reminds me I should post the tasting notes to those as well.

Sniff:
Slightly musty with pulpy oak, a wet barley. Hay, weed, and copper polish. Dried apples, vanilla.

Sip:
A bit of a thin palate, with not a lot of impact. It’s more fresh than the nose, with more grainy notes and some oak. A hint of white pepper after a while.

Swallow:
The finish goes back to the nose but adds marachino cherries. A bit funky too.

Quite inconsistent, like the palate belongs to a different whisky than the nose and finish. I like a bit of a surprise when trying a whisky, but it shouldn’t be as inconsistent as I find this one.

82/100

Available at Cane & Grain for € 60