The Honey Bear by Kapri Robinson | Westland Cocktail Collective
Westland Distillery's Cocktail Collective continues to inspire with innovative mixology, partnering with bartending luminaries to explore the boundless potential of whiskey. This time, we highlight Kapri Robinson, bartender at Allegory in Washington DC and a rising star of the cocktail industry.
Flagship Espresso Martini by Erik Hakkinen | Westland Cocktail Collective
This year, Westland Distillery banded together our first ever Cocktail Collective, a group of tastemakers who have made a wave in the bartending industry. We've partnered with the innovative minds of the Westland Cocktail Collective to share our pursuit of the unexpected and uncover new flavors...
Meet the Collective | Dominique Jackson
Dominique Jackson has over 9 years of bartending experience, and continues to establish her voice in the ever-changing beverage industry. A second-generation Filipino-American woman, Jackson grew up in Akron, Ohio, drawing inspiration from her family and their ancestral home in the Philippines. From Ohio, Jackson moved to Arizona and eventually California, honing her skills in...
Meet the Collective | Paul Sauter
This year, after over a decade of exploration in whiskey, Westland banded together its first ever Cocktail Collective, with the goal to explore the flavors of whiskey in cocktail-making. From the country’s favorite bars come legendary bartenders, heroes of the drink world. And in Chicago, Illinois, we find Paul Sauter, who runs ship at the award-winning Aviary, part of the famed Alinea Restaurant Group.
Meet the Collective | Nick Amano Dolan
In our efforts to explore the unknown possibilities in whiskey, we’re taking a closer look at cocktails, an classic avenue for enjoying fine distilled spirits. Together with some of the industry’s most revered bartenders, Westland gathered the Cocktail Collective. The goal remains simple: explore new flavors in cocktails using Westland Whiskey as the main avenue.
Meet the Collective | Will Wyatt
And in our effort to explore the use of Westland Whiskey in cocktails, we collaborated with some of the industry’s most revered bartenders and bar owners. We look to a hub of inspiration in New York City, a Mecca for creative movements and a beacon in the food and drink industry. In Manhattan, we find Will Wyatt, a restauranteur and bar owner who rose to the ranking after years of hard work at...
Meet the Collective | Erik Hakkinen
Erik Hakkinen grew up in Tacoma, Washington, just 30 miles south of Seattle. He started in restaurants as a busboy at a young age, and always felt drawn in by what was happening at the bar side of the restaurant. Hakkinen then found himself bartending in Seattle as a young adult, and quickly built up his career in the drinks industry. Hakkinen made a name for himself at Seattle’s legendary bar Zig Zag Cafe...
Meet the Collective | Justin Lavenue
Justin Lavenue got his start behind the bar when one day at his job bussing tables, the bartender didn’t show up to their shift. From there, he fell in love with the craft of mixing and mingling flavors, constructing drinks and serving guests. After learning the ropes and establishing himself in high-volume craft cocktail bars, Lavenue won GQ & Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender 2015...
The Westland Cocktail Collective
In Westland’s ongoing pursuit of flavor, whiskey is only part of the story. Exploring the artisan cocktail is its own exciting frontier, where curious, passionate people use whiskey to push boundaries, challenge assumptions and traditions, and elevate the cocktail to new levels of craft and sophistication.
Meet the Cocktail Collective
In the long days of the Pacific Northwest summer, Westland gathered seven visionary bartenders for the inaugural meeting of the Westland Cocktail Collective. Each member is a prominent bartender from one of the country’s most innovative cocktail bars, and they came together for three days at the edge of the world to...
Meet the Collective | Kapri Robinson
Introducing Kapri Robinson, a 2024 member of the Westland Cocktail Collective. Robinson started at bars in her hometown of Washington DC when she was just 21 years old, and has blossomed as an industry star in the years following as she built her career.