Westland’s Latest American Single Malt Whiskey Pushes Past The ’Well-Trod Territory of Ubiquitous Grains’

Westland unveiled its fourth release of Colere, an American Single Malt. (Photo: Westland Distillery)

On Tuesday, Westland Distillery announced the return of its Colere whiskey as part of its limited-release Outpost Range Series. This year, Westland chose to work with Fritz, a barley cultivated at Washington State University’s The Bread Lab center.

3,084 bottles of Westland Colere Edition 4 American Single Malt Whiskey are available. The whiskey hosts an ABV of 50% and a suggested retail price of $149.99

“With Colere, Westland sets out to chart the direct impact of barley on flavor, leaving behind the well-trod territory of ubiquitous grains,” Westland Master Distiller Tyler Pederson said. “Colere explores the thousands of new and forgotten varieties of barley whose flavor has yet to be considered, striving to capture the vibrancy and diversity of Pacific Northwest terroir in whiskey.”

Pederson explained that Fritz’s ancestral barley strains are Apex, Alexis, Baroness and Cellar. The strain was developed at Washington State and released into the world in 2016.

Westland’s Colere has implemented Pilot barley in the past but not Fritz.

Westland shared the latest edition of Colere spent a minimum amount of 71 months maturing after it was fermented with a Belgian brewer’s yeast strain and distilled.

Ninety-five percent of the casks were split between two refill Westland casks. One of the casks was a second fill Cooper’s Reserve cask with a heavy toast and light char, and the other was a second fill Cooper’s Select cask with a light toast and heavy char. 5% of the whiskey was aged in first fill ex-bourbon cask.

This latest release follows the return of Westland Solum in February. The peated American Single Malt was made with peat sourced from the Pacific Northwest, and was meant to celebrate the Pacific Northwest and showcase a sense of place.

Westland Colere 4 Tasting Notes, Via the Brand

Nose: Dried apricot, croissant, fresh citrus fruit.

Taste: Baked apple turnovers, dried fruit trail mix, jasmine green tea.

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