What Goes Into Our American Single Malt?

At Westland, we believe that whiskey is a perfect conduit to tell the story of place. And here in our place, in the Pacific Northwest, we see the narrative start underneath us in the soil that nurtures barley. The story of place continues in the air that passes through our maritime climate, but most importantly, the story of place comes alive in the hands of the people who make our whiskey, the farmers who grow the grain, the hands that fill each cask. At Westland, we believe in innovating, exploring, and introducing something altogether new to whiskey. The story of place leads us to traversing the landscape and discovering the highest quality ingredients for single malt exist right in our own backyard.

Upon examining the ingredients in single malt, it is a simple four ingredients. All single malt whiskeys are distilled from just malted barley, water, and yeast, then aged in oak casks. But taking a step beyond the raw ingredients, we see that the types of barley, the wood itself, temperature, and time play a role in formulating the final whiskey. We come to find that the seasons shape our whiskeys as the liquid spirit breathes in and out of the oak staves. Because we start with such a small selection of raw ingredients, we believe the quality of each ingredient is critical to the flavor of the final whiskey. Unlike many conventional distilleries, we believe the quality of the barley makes a difference in the whiskey that is born from it. We believe that the yeast strain used in fermenting can be a flavor catalyst. We believe the type of wood and the quality of it is pivotal to the final whiskey. This is precisely why we hold the conviction that every step of the process should serve something larger. We have set our sight on the creation of a distinctly American single malt that is thoughtful, transparent, and full of character.

Barley is where everything starts and we’ve made the deliberate choice to start there, rather than with corn, wheat, or rye. Barley has traditionally been overlooked in American whiskey, but we see it differently. Barley is expressive. It has flavor. And it grows in abundance here in the Pacific Northwest, which is notably one of the best climates in the world to grow barley.

We source our barley primarily from Washington state, with varieties that are suited to both the climate and our ambitions. These aren’t commodity grains selected for yield alone. We work with maltsters and local farmers to prioritize flavor, including non-GMO, heirloom, and earthy strains like Full Pint and Alba.

Our Signature Five Malt recipe includes not only pale malt — the foundation of nearly all single malt whiskey — but also specialty malts inspired by the brewing tradition. Chocolate malt. Munich malt. Extra Special malt. These malts are roasted to different levels, coaxing out flavors of toasted bread, dark chocolate, coffee, and dried fruit. It’s a choice that makes our spirit more complex from the outset, long before it sees a cask.

This is not standard practice. Most distilleries use a single base pale malt to produce a relatively neutral new make spirit, one that relies on the barrel to develop character. Roasted malts are inherently less efficient in the fermentation tank. At Westland, we prioritize flavor over efficiency. We build flavor from the grain up, showcasing that barley adds distinct character to every whiskey we bottle.

Whiskey is more than grain, of course. It is also water and in the Pacific Northwest, we’re lucky to have some of the purest water in the world. Sourced from the Cedar River watershed, the water used in our distillery is soft and clean, ideal for mashing and fermentation. It supports our yeast without interfering with the malt character we work so hard to preserve.

Water shapes what goes into the still, but it also shapes how our whiskey ages. Seattle’s temperate maritime climate leads to a slow and steady maturation process. Unlike hotter climates that fluctuate temperature and accelerate evaporation and extraction, our environment encourages balance. It allows the malt character to stay intact, to breathe, and to mature without being overwhelmed by wood.

Fermentation is the heartbeat of whiskey production, and we treat it with the same reverence that brewers give their beer. Most commercial whiskeys ferment for 48 to 72 hours. At Westland, we ferment for 144. That’s six full days, using Belgian brewer’s yeast, to unlock a wide range of esters and fruit-forward notes that you simply can’t obtain in a rushed process.

We think of fermentation as much more than as a method to create alcohol. Fermentation for us is as a stage for expressing flavor. Slow fermentation develops delicate aromatics pear, apple skin, banana, rose, spice. These notes are retained through distillation and give our whiskey a distinct identity.

Our stills are made of copper, not just for tradition but for the way copper interacts with sulfur compounds in the wash. The result is a cleaner, more refined spirit, one that still carries the character of the malt and fermentation but with grace and polish.

Pot stills are inherently less efficient than column stills in collection of alcohol. We don’t chase efficiency. We chase flavor. Our cuts are made by taste, not a magical formula and the people who make those cuts know what they’re looking for. A heavy, oily heart cut full of texture and nuance. Not too narrow, not too clean. A whiskey that feels alive before it ever touches a barrel.

Barrels are often seen as the main contributor to whiskey flavor and in many cases, they are. But we believe oak should be a partner, not the dominant voice. That’s why we use a diverse mix of casks: first-fill and refill American oak, Sherry and fortified wine casks, beer casks, and even the noteworthy Garryana oak casks that make our Garryana whiskey such a standout expression.

We work with a network of cooperages and winemakers to select barrels that will enhance our spirit, not overwrite it. That means air dried oak, seasoned in open air, the slow way. No step of the process can be accelerated. Our whiskey rests in full-size 53-gallon casks, aging in the delicate and nuanced climate of the Pacific Northwest. The result is a balanced, flavorful whiskey where malt and oak walk hand in hand.

Westland is not bound by tradition for its own sake, but we are inspired by the traditions that came before us. After all, single malt whiskey has been created for centuries, and we want to honor this long-standing practice and the craftsmanship of it.

Unlike most American whiskeys, we don’t rely on corn or new charred oak. Unlike most Scotch producers, we don’t use a narrow range of malt or fast fermentation. We’re not interested in making a “better version” of someone else’s whiskey. We’re interested in defining what American single malt can be when flavor is prioritized at every step.

We are transparent in our process, collaborative in our approach, and relentless in our pursuit of balance and complexity. Every choice we make from barley to bottle is rooted in one question: does this add flavor?

There’s a delicate dance around the distillery between different functions, and each one will have its own moment of pause. Maybe it’s our distiller smelling the wash on day four of fermentation. Maybe it’s our blender combining cask samples in a quiet room. Maybe it’s a guest who visits our tasting room and adds a drop of water to their Glencairn glass.

Each pause, in its own way, acknowledges the thoughtful intention that goes into our whiskeys.

That’s our true ingredient. Thoughtfulness. It doesn’t show up on a spec sheet, but it’s there in every bottle. It’s there when a farmer chooses to grow a heritage barley for flavor, not yield. It’s there when a maltster roasts to a custom profile. It’s there when we wait to bottle the whiskey because the spirit isn’t quite right yet.

What goes into our American single malt? All of this, the hands that formulate it.

From the soil to the barley, and upward.