Westland Launches Locally Peated Solum American Single Malt

In a watershed moment for Seattle’s Westland Distillery, the whiskey maker recently announced the much-anticipated release of their Solum Edition 1 single malt.

This will be a limited annual bottling, and in a statement from Westland, the distiller noted that this is the first nationally available single malt whiskey to showcase American peated malt, sourced from Washington’s Skagit Valley.

Westland Co-Founder Matt Hofmann said this expression is part of a mission to showcase “a sense of place,” as Westland Distillery’s Solum Edition 1 completes the Outpost Range story of oak (Garryana), barley (Colere) and peat (Solum) unique to its Pacific Northwest homeland.

The Pacific Northwest peat, with its unique and location-specific botanical mix, imparts a distinct flavor profile to the resulting whiskey.

“The peat of the Pacific Northwest has a completely different organic makeup than that of Scotland, resulting in a totally different flavor profile,” Hofmann said. “Botanicals like Labrador Tea, an aromatic shrub, bring unique qualities to our regional peat.”

The peat he speaks of is harvested from a bog located about two hours south of Seattle.

Hofmann noted that Westland departed from traditional methods of peat harvest, retrieving it from below the bog’s waterline rather than first draining and excavating the bog.

This harvesting process was specifically designed to not disrupt the bog’s ecosystem, preventing the release of greenhouse gasses and ensuring that the bog will be able to continue producing peat into the future.

Hofmann said this a testament to Westland’s devotion to sustainability. The act of harvesting and smoking its own barley also required collaboration with longtime partner Skagit Valley Malting, which developed the technology to achieve the desired results.

Solum Edition 1 distiller’s notes:

The peated single malt clocks in at 50% ABV, comes in a 700ml bottle, and has a retail price of $149.99. A total of 4,044 bottles will be released globally.

• NOSE: Fresh fuji apple, ground cinnamon, charred wood, and strawberry rhubarb crisp. There’s a savory smoke note that teases the nose.
• PALATE: Complex herbal tones such as burned sage, vanilla chamomile tea, and grain notes of coffee cake, pumpernickel toast.
• GRAIN BILL: Skagit Valley Malting Peated Malt.
CASK TYPES: Cooper’s Reserve New American Oak, Cooper’s Select New American Oak, First Fill ex-Bourbon.
• YEAST: Belgian Saison Brewer’s Yeast.
• FERMENTATION TIME: 96-144 hours.

For more information, check out www.westlanddistillery.com.