A Favorite Pairing for any Occasion

One of our favorite things about creating and sharing whiskeys is emphasizing that it absolutely can be unpretentious. For the Thanksgiving holiday, we wanted to share a favorite pairing of ours, one that is simple and delicious and speaks to the flavor notes of our whiskey, but also remains extremely approachable. So, for this unpretentious weekend pairing, we have a very easy chocolate chip cookie recipe to pair with our Flagship whiskey. A perfect one to try at home with ingredients you may already have at home.

Makes ~20 cookies

Ingredients
• 227 g (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 200 g (1 cup packed) brown sugar
• 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 120 g frozen banana (thawed and mashed; about 1 medium)
• 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 120 g (1 ½ cups) rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 200–250 g (1 ½ cups) semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
Optional: ½ tsp cinnamon or allspice

Instructions
1. Brown the butter: Add butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until melted and foamy, then nutty brown with amber flecks. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.
2. Mix wet ingredients: In a mixing bowl, whisk brown butter with both sugars until smooth and glossy. Add egg and vanilla and whisk to combine. Stir in mashed banana.
3. Add dry ingredients: Fold in flour, oats, baking soda, and salt until just combined — do not overmix. Stir in chocolate.
4. Chill (important): Cover and refrigerate 30–60 minutes to help the butter re-solidify and control spread.
5. Bake: Scoop onto a parchment-lined tray (about 2 tablespoons each) and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10–12 minutes until edges are set and centers are soft.
6. Rest: Cool on the tray 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.

Often times with pairing, one can wax poetic about specific cheeses and meats and the unique microbiology of foods that make them compatible for the chosen drink pairing as it all unfolds chemically on your palate. While we love to nerd out on flavor, sometimes, the best approach is to choose something simple. Westland Flagship, for us, is a taste of home: warm, familiar, perfectly shared with company. And while there are dozens of different fanciful pairings you could create for this complex whiskey, and while we also believe there is absolutely a time and a place for an elaborate cheese board or a bespoke steak, we wanted to share a favorite cookie recipe. This banana chocolate chip cookie is extremely simple, and the result is a soft, golden-edged chocolate chip cookie with naturally added sweetness.

At the end of the day, everything we do is about enjoyment. We spend an inordinate amount of time perfecting our whiskey recipe so all you have to do is open the bottle and sip something that is complete on its own. And made even better with a delicious cookie on the side.

One of the most common things we hear from visitors of our distillery is “it smells like banana bread in here!” At the heart of each whiskey we distill is our house Belgian Saison yeast, a deliberate choice that brings notes of ripe banana bread, spice, and subtle fruit.

The chocolate chips in this recipe point to the high quality malts used in our Flagship whiskey recipe. The dark roasted malts in Flagship are responsible for the deep cacao- and coffee-leaning attributes that define our malt character.

And then, in the whiskey-making process, we add structure by aging in new American oak. Slow maturation in fresh oak builds Flagship’s signature vanilla, baking spice, and sweet dough notes, the same flavors that define many quintessential desserts.

Westland Flagship has always been about flavor without pretense. From day one, we set out to create American Single Malt Whiskey shaped by Pacific Northwest in raw ingredients and in values. While we often lean ambitious, we wanted to take a moment to pair our signature expression with something as humble as a home-baked cookie. Dessert doesn’t need a special occasion, and neither does good whiskey.