West of Tradition: A New Story of American Single Malt

Every great whiskey carries a story inside it: of land, of patience, of the people willing to bet on something unproven. For American Single Malt, that story is still being written, one still-young category finding out what it’s capable of.There is a story behind every great whiskey. For American Single Malt, that story is still being written following the category’s official ratification in early 2025.

This September, Westland Distillery joins filmmakers Blacksmith and Jones for the premiere of a new documentary that goes looking for that story. The film travels into the world of American Single Malt through the eyes of the people who have shaped it, chasing a question that has guided Westland since its first distillation: what can American whiskey become when its character is written by the ground it stands on?

For Westland, the answer starts in the Pacific Northwest. Washington State holds a terroir few whiskey regions can claim: a maritime climate, generations of agricultural tradition, forests of native oak, and a culture more curious about what whiskey could be than protective of what it has always been. We built our approach around that inheritance, letting provenance and flavor lead. From the barley we choose to the way it ferments, distills, and rests, every decision becomes one more sentence in a larger story about place.

Working alongside Blacksmith and Jones, Westland helped bring that story to the screen, a film that captures a category in the middle of discovering its own voice. West of Tradition follows the people pushing at the edges of what single malt whiskey can mean in America, offering a close, honest look at a category at its most alive: still curious, still arguing with itself, still becoming.

Official Media Premiere: September 9th at SIFF’s Seattle Center.

We invite you to join us on at our distillery in SoDo for special consumer screenings on September 17th – 2931 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA. More details about the premiere and where to watch the film will be announced soon.

American Single Malt has a story to tell. This is one chapter in a narrative that is nowhere near finished.