The finish has a nice touch of crystallized ginger, oatmeal cereal and malt notes, and a touch of orange oils. The overall balance is nice and complex.
It’s a whiskey to take your time with, to let it unfold and enjoy. This is the kind of American single malt you want to relax with. I definitely recommend at least trying it if you haven’t already.
Westland Sherry Wood does not achieve American single malt perfection in my eyes, but may to many others. An incredibly solid dram, with the taste of clear intention in production.
While notably improved from earlier bottlings, the sherry is still rendered a bit dull, like chocolate-covered cherries, as smoky cocoa nibs and the chewy malt meet on the palate, offering a honeyed finish with hints of baking chocolate.
On the tongue, it’s surprisingly malty, almost chewy, with notes of graham cracker plus a mushroomy character on the back end. While the sherry element is tangible on the nose, it doesn’t really translate completely to the palate.
The palate is oaky and drying, with hints of vanilla and cocoa, finishing with a tinges of espresso and clove. Adding water unlocks hints of lemon peel and campfire smoke.
I'm really taken aback by this dram - I expected to want to bathe in it. It has everything I like and enjoy...single malt, sherry, decent proof. But it's funky, hot, thin and just weird. This has tempted me locally about 1.3 gajillion times and I'm so glad to not have bitten on a bottle because this is frankly disappointing, especially for the price. As a test, I let it sit out for an extra half hour to see if some air helped it pull its shit together but that was disappointing also. Alas, this is just the first Westland of many to come, so I'm hoping it only goes up from here! I'm giving this a Rank 4.
Score:
75
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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