How Local Sourcing Shapes Our Pacific Northwest Whiskey

Westland was founded on a belief that taking the long road will be worth the journey. For over ten years, we have distilled American Single Malt Whiskey, a virtually unexplored and unestablished category. We believe that whiskey, made the slow and authentic way from locally sourced ingredients, will taste better and leave the world better than we found it. For B Corp Moth, we wanted to pause and reflect on the moments and the people that helped lead us here. Everything we do at Westland is made possible because of our grain breeders, growers, maltsters, and barrel coopers.
We rely on our localized supply chain, our partners, our comrades, to make our terroir-driven American Single Malt Whiskey. With their help, we create a uniquely Pacific Northwest liquid, comprised of a robust character shaped by our soil and our climate. We wanted to take this opportunity to highlight three key partners of ours, a farmer, a cooper, and a maltster.

As a Certified B Corporation, we take sustainability seriously—not just in how we make whiskey, but in who we partner with to make it happen. Our commitment to a localized supply chain allows us to create whiskey that is deeply tied to our region’s character, soil, and climate.

This B Corp Month, we’re celebrating three of our key partners—a farmer, a cooper, and a maltster—who make our terroir-driven whiskey possible.

In an industry where large-scale production often prioritizes efficiency over flavor, we take a different approach. By sourcing barley, oak, and malt from independent craftspeople, we:

✔ Preserve unique Pacific Northwest flavors through regional ingredients
✔ Support sustainable farming & forestry by working with responsible growers
✔ Create high-quality whiskey that reflects the land it comes from

These values are embodied in the people we work with—like Dave Hedlin, Rick DeFerrari, and the team at Brian Estes

Learning about the land, from the people of that land, is a completely different experience from impersonal and distant research. Through time spent together, in person, more than just essential information is passed on. In working with folks like Dave Hedlin, one of our key partners in Skagit Valley, we’re gifted knowledge but also wisdom and inspiration. Our talks with Dave are filled with moments of wit that can disguise a depth of insight if you don’t look closely enough.

Dave is part of a third generation of farmers that have been caring for land in the Skagit Valley for almost 120 years. They grow over 30 crops of more than 100 varieties, including supplying dozens of farms around the US with their some of their seed. Dave, along with his team, has chosen the long road—investing in the future with every harvest, every crop rotation. Flavor, soil health, and all the inherent risks that come with it all are chosen over yield.

Dave, as he walks around the farm, often shares his wisdom with us. He remarks about the difficulties of farming, that the variables are high, and the risks are ever-increasing. There’s constant demand from distributors and stakeholders to drive price down. But Dave reminds us, “If I win a race to the bottom, then where am I?” He goes on to say that “What’s important is to do the best we can do with the realities of the time and what we’re given.” It's farmers like Dave who help us remember the journey we’re traversing. We’re investing in the long-term, we, together more than we could alone, are changing the whiskey landscape.

Rick DeFerrari owns and operates Oregon Barrelworks in McMinville, Oregon. Rick has dedicated his life to the quality and craftsmanship in making high quality oak barrels the slow and old-fashioned way. In the world of coopering, very few are willing to take the challenge of processing what is called “green wood.” Most often, coopers choose to purchase wood from a lumber mill. Rick studied forestry and engineering, and then after finishing his studies, he lived in France where he learned to build casks by hand. Rick traveled back to Oregon and after a few years building casks under his own company, found that the staves he was buying from lumber mills was not of the quality he was hoping. He wanted to control quality at every step of the way, so he invested in the resources to mill and process his own lumber. At Oregon Barrel Works, Rick operates a cask cooperage that sources wood, processes it in a mill, seasons the wood, and then builds casks.

Why Oregon Oak?
• Unique Pacific Northwest flavor – Richer, spicier, and more complex than conventional oak
• Sustainable sourcing – Slow, responsible forestry instead of mass production
• Chemical compounds – Higher concentration of chemical compounds allows whiskey to develop deep, layered character

Not only does Rick touch more of the supply chain with his small and mighty cooperage, he also works with the rare and distinct Oregon Oak, or as we also call it, quercus garryana. This is a unique species of oak native to the West Coast of the United States, and it is what makes our Garryana whiskeys so unique.

Garryana oak is harder to use, difficult to source, unpredictable at times in the rackhouse. It takes longer to season and is incredibly slow-growing species that is rare. Rick was the perfect partner for Westland, looking to tell the story of place and take the longer road to do this in the most genuine and authentic way possible, so generations ahead can see and participate in our story.

Without maltsters, we would be unable to create our American Single Malt whiskeys, which utilize a mash of 100% malted barley. Malting has become a largely industrialized and therefore a very streamlined (read: efficient) process. It’s built for uniformity and scale, prioritizing large yield. At Westland, yield isn’t our main priority. We want to explore flavor, to uncover the depths of the raw materials we find in our own backyard.

The thing about the industrialized and efficient systems is that small/independent farmers often can’t produce barley that matches the specs of industrial-grade malting barley. Linc Malt, based in Spokane Washington, uses their own custom facility to malt heritage and unique grains, uplifting the local farmers and creating a canvas of barley malts for customers to use for brewing and distilling.

Brian Estes, partnerships manager at Linc Malt, helps connect Westland to farmers who are willing to break the traditions of what came before them. He introduced us to a grower of Purple Egyptian barley in the Palouse region who uses no added chemicals in his fields—a rare spectacle in that region. With the help of Brian, we can work with farmers who are a part of this cooperative model to take care of the soil and the planet, prioritizing the farming region in the state which we call home. Each bag of Linc Malt can be traced to a specific farm, something that was virtually impossible before we started working with them.

At Westland, we distill 100% malted barley—but not just any barley. We collaborate with LINC Malt, a Spokane-based maltster that supports independent farmers and focuses on unique, heritage grain varieties.

Conventional malting is designed for uniformity and efficiency, but we’re after something different: bold, distinct flavors that showcase the diversity of Pacific Northwest barley.

Through Brian Estes at LINC Malt, we’ve connected with farmers who grow unconventional grains—like Purple Egyptian barley—without added chemicals. This kind of farm-to-bottle innovation is shaping the future of American Single Malt Whiskey.

Did you know?
Westland has distilled over 60 different barley varieties, compared to the two standard types used in industrial malt houses.

By prioritizing flavor, sustainability, and locality, we’re redefining what whiskey can be.

At Westland, we’ve distilled over 60 different varieties of barley. That’s a whole lot more than the 2 conventional varieties available at the industrialized warehouses. This is an exploration of flavor, a story of place, but most of all, a collaboration with friends and farmers who make it all possible. It’s all a part of the way we want to make whiskey which shows itself proudly on the global stage but boasts distinction that can only come from the Pacific Northwest. It’s reshaping the future of whiskey.

So, we take a pause and reflect with gratitude on the partnerships and friendships that have made this all possible. This B Corp Month, we want to recognize the people that help make our whiskey, from the growers to the craftsmen, to the people who keep a bottle close by at their home bar. Thank you for believing with us that we can reimagine the whiskey landscape.