Review: Westward Single Malt Whiskey Bottled in Bond

Westward Whiskey quickly established itself as one of the premier American single malt distilleries. The Portland distillery releases numerous excellent expressions for wider distribution, but saves some of its more limited and unique whiskeys for paying members of the Westward Whiskey Club. The newest offering for Whiskey Club members is a bottled in bond expression with maturation beyond 7 years. In March 2017, the whiskey entered new oak barrels with a #3 char and medium toasted heads coopered by McGinnis Wood Products. The staves were air-cured for 36 months prior to barrel raising. Westward dumped the barrels in June 2024 for Master Blender Miles Monroe to blend and bottle in early July 2024.

Westward Bottled in Bond American Single Malt is distilled from 100% 2-row malted barley that was fermented for 120 hours. The barley consists of a blend of three varieties, which includes Metcalf and Wintmalt. The distillate came off of the still around 141 proof and entered the barrel at 124 proof. In accordance with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, the whiskey is bottled at 100 proof. For this project, Westward utilized the Chico yeast strain. Chico is a nod to Chico, California, which was the home of the original taproom of Sierra Nevada Brewing. Due to Chico’s ease of mutation, the Chico yeast utilized by Westward is likely not fully identical to the yeast that started the American craft brewing revolution. However, Chico remains the most widely used yeast strain among the American craft beer industry. Sierra Nevada acquired the yeast at some point in the 1970s from Ballantine Brewing in New Jersey, dating back to Ballantine’s IPA in 1890. Prior to making its way to New Jersey, the yeast strain was featured in English and German beers.

Westward Bottled in Bond comes with a significant age statement for American single malt whiskey, along with a very important yeast strain. How did the whiskey turn out?  Would E.H. Taylor be proud? Let’s find out!

The bottled in bond release opens with a lovely pine aroma. The pine note is significant, as the Chico yeast was historically used for IPAs, which tend to present evergreen notes. The bright pine transitions to bright lemon zest. Bright and crisp notes give way to an earthy coconut and vanilla. However, after some air, the nose again rounds out with a bright and crisp green apple scent.

The palate kicks off with a combination note of warm New Orleans pralines followed by a hint of black pepper. Moving into the midpalate, cloves and nutmeg come forward, along with a crisp lemon zest. The mouthfeel offers a medium viscosity.

Westward Bottled in Bond’s finish starts with a slightly cooling eucalyptus note. As the cooling sensation passes, the finish transitions to dried apple and Nilla Wafers, pleasantly lingering on the palate for a medium length of time.

Westward Bottled in Bond is a beautiful American single malt whiskey. I’ve been fortunate to experience numerous whiskies from Westward and this is the best I’ve tried, and that includes the $249 Milestone release which dropped in 2023. Outside of Westward, this bottled in bond in arguably the best single expression of American single malt I’ve tried from any distillery. For those leery of American single malts due to the common appearance of younger age statements, don’t miss out. This is clearly a whiskey that needs to grab your attention.

100 proof.

A / $100 / westwardwhiskey.com

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