THE SINGLE MALT’S NEW FRONTIER

Westland, which has been operational since 2011, is at the forefront of the American single malt movement, with a really creative approach to what is certainly one of the most interesting categories of whiskey or whisky anywhere in the world.

American single malt only became an established definition, regulated by the US Alcohol Trade and Tax Bureau, at the beginning of January 2025 – so it is very much the whiskey of the moment. Until now, it was possible to call an American whiskey “single malt” (at least when bottling it for domestic consumption, if not in countries where single malt is defined) even if it had other grains in its mash bill, or was a blend of malts from different distilleries.

Under the new regulations, it must conform pretty much to single malt Scotch rules, with the most notable exception being that distillers can choose what type of still they use, including a column still. The regulations were driven by some of the leading American producers of craft single malts, who wanted to set standards for high quality. But they weren’t looking to limit the variety of American single malts.

Far from it – there are regional variations in style as well as individual distillery characters. Westland, from Seattle, is very much in the Pacific Northwest style – arguably the character most recognisable as single malt to drinkers used to Scotch. But, even then, co-founder and master distiller Matt Hoffman has a very individual approach to flavour.

Westland Distillery is in the SoDo warehouse district of the city – originally “South of the Dome” but that stadium was demolished, so now it stands for “South of Downtown”. Our boss and your whiskey guide, Sukhinder says it’s a bit too much of a hipster area for his tastes! But what does make a lot of sense to him, he says, is Hoffman’s philosophy regarding the raw material. He treats malting barley like a Seattle roaster does coffee beans – he explores potential and variety in different batches.

This painstaking approach to malt is not unusual in American single malt... it is influenced perhaps by coffee, but definitely by craft beer and also by the traditions of American whiskey, where the mash bill is so important. OK, you can’t mix grains under the new American single malt regulations, but you can mix different malted barley styles, or at least choose a very specific style to suit your plans for maturation.

As for that maturation, Westland whiskey is not aged in the city – fear not! Their warehouses are north of the city, in the stunning landscape of Skagit valley, towards the Canadian border. The Pacific Northwest conditions – warm (not Kentucky hot) summers, but very rainy winters – allow for a steady development of flavours.

Elixir Trails is not finished with Westland, by the way – look out for The Whiskey Trail returning to Seattle to see how a different malted barley “mash bill” affects this single malt.