Westland Flagship: A Malt That Does Things Differently

For us at Westland, our Flagship whiskey is the answer to what terrior in whiskey is and what it can become. There are depths to our whiskey, and we’ve seen it raise the eyebrows of whiskey aficionados over the world. But at the end of the day, the highest honor is when people choose a bottle of Westland for their favorite moments.

Westland is for the flavor nerds, we love to talk about the mashbill and fermentation specs, but also, this is a whiskey designed to sit at your home bar and share with friends. Our Flagship is inherently supposed to be a whiskey we come back to. And for us, of course, a taste of home. Flagship is a direct expression of Westland.

To understand Westland Flagship, you must understand the tension it holds. Flagship is not a traditional American whiskey, but it also doesn’t replicate Scotch. We use malted barley and New American Oak, paying homage to age-old whiskey traditions while still holding exploration closely. We helped pave the path for the American Single Malt category because we believed we could. The biggest takeaway at Westland, though, is that quality remains paramount to everything we do.

Westland Flagship is directly born of this region, the Pacific Northwest. This was the inspiration to each and every one of our raw ingredients; it’s the reason why we chose a mash bill of 100% malted barley instead of using any corn like many other American whiskey producers. Westland doesn’t taste like other single malts because it is inherently designed to showcase the bounty of ingredients here in the Pacific Northwest. Of course, the ingredients directly contribute to our whiskey, but so does the ethos of the place from which we came. Our region is known for innovation, exploration. Hundreds of years ago, our forebears traversed unknown hills, mountains, and landscapes because they believed they would find something good in the end. They did, and so did we.

This land shapes our whiskey in every way. From the Skagit Valley barley in our mash bill to the craggy, majestic oak that grows right here in the U.S. Westland Flagship is built from ingredients with a sense of place. Our climate, mild, wet, maritime, influences our whiskey but also how we live each day. The slower winters cause us to take pause. And inherently then, we do not rush. We do not cut corners. We do everything the slow way to ensure the process is complete and whole.

One of the most distinctive things about Flagship is its mashbill. Instead of the typical 2-row pale malt used in distilling, we use a 5-malt mashbill. Each was chosen for flavor, which seems straightforward but is rarely the school of thought in whiskey. Brands all over the world chase efficiency, but that is not the Westland approach.

The five-malt recipe is as follows:
• Washington Select Pale Malt as the base
• Munich Malt for its bread-like richness
• Extra Special Malt for dried fruit and toffee notes
• Brown Malt for roasted complexity
• Pale Chocolate Malt for deep cocoa and spice

The result is layered and chocolatey whiskey unlike anything else on the shelf. Westland Flagship tends to over-deliver on flavor, and that is something we did on purpose. Even after the first sip, the whiskey itself has a narrative, just like the place that created it. Flagship tells a story from the very first sip. You’ll encounter notes of banana bread, dark chocolate, orange peel. The perfect balance of oak, grain, cask, and ester. All of this, designed this way on purpose.

Our first core expression was Westland American Oak. We’ve changed our product line a few times since then, and now Flagship is our answer to the core expression question. Aged in new American oak casks, ex-bourbon, and a select few Sherry casks, Westland Flagship again chooses a path less traveled. In single malt traditions around the world, used barrels (typically ex-bourbon) are the norm. In the states where American Oak is more prevalent, Sherry casks are not as common as they are in the Scottish and Irish lands. Westland Flagship combines these things: New American Oak, malted barley, and a touch of sherry casks. The resulting whiskey is one that suits many occasions. Perfect for your daily sip, balanced and surprising in a cocktail, wonderful as a gift or a special occasion.


To make whiskey differently, we needed to trust our ingredients. But even more, we needed to trust in the future of whiskey. That’s what Flagship represents.

There’s a quiet confidence to Westland Flagship. It doesn’t rely on age statements or marketing gimmicks. It doesn’t rely on trends or novelty. This whiskey was made to reflect its place, its time, and the people who crafted it. Westland Flagship was something we designed to stand the test of time.


Here’s to the whiskey that got us here, and to wherever it leads us next.