Nose - Hint of sweet apples/pears, milk chocolate, lightly smoked sweet cured ham or turkey jerky, toasted orange peels. Taste - Sweet, lightly smoked honey/maple glazed ham or turkey jerky, nice black & white pepper spice, spiced baked pears/apples, lightly bitter apple/pear skins. Finish - Long lingering pepper spice, gently fading bitter apple peels, lingering sweet smoked turkey jerky, lightly smoked salt. Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - Not normally being a huge fan of heavily peated whiskies, this strikes a very nice balance. It's lightly peated and combines a nice savory sweet profile that is quite enjoyable, but I think I'd have to be in the mood for something like this. Not sure I could really treat this as a daily and I think its complexity is best enjoyed neat as opposed to being used in a cocktail. I'm not really sure I can pick out which component was influenced by the Garry oak, but I look forward to seeing what else comes out of this distillery.
About this bottle
Garryana marks the first release in Westland's Native Oak Series, with others to follow in 2017. Master Distiller Matt Hofmann has created these expressions to showcase Pacific Northwest terroir. The rare Quercus garryana (Garry oak) is native only to that part of the world, and new casks of it were used in the maturation process of part of the whiskey. It is bottled at cask strength (56.2% ABV) and is not chill-filtered. Limited to 2,500 bottles for this first edition.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 12 parsed reviews.
During my 2nd year of my MBA, I already had a job offer, but I used to sign up for interviews anyway just to get in all the free food and drinks (the night before, companies used to wine and dine us). I bombed the interviews on purpose, just wanted the free food. So...today I get an email from Park Ave Liquor in NYC (which by the way is on Madison Ave, but whatever floats their boat). They had a tasting event sponsored by Westland. I'm there, even though it's out of my way from Penn Station!! Like business school all over again! Free drinks and all you have to do is chat! I especially wanted to try their Garryanna. It's good...real good. Amanda's spot on---fruity with a heaping dose of coffee, fresh herbs and a wee bit of peatiness (which the guy told me is not from peat, but the west coast native species of oak called Garryanna. He said it's just under 3 yrs old as well. Now the bad news---it's $115!!! It's good, but not $115 good.
The nose is warm with rich BBQ notes. On the pallet, the BBQ opens up to full mesquite. The finish is rich and full-bodied with ham and sweet notes to boot. Such a lovely, unique flavor that demands it's own category.
I'm a big Westland fan, and I think this is their best release to date. Think American Oak but even better. The price is quite a bit higher than the other releases. For this limited edition it may be worth it!
Garryanna has an intensely spicy aroma of oak, banana, brown sugar, and a hint of vanilla. The flavor profile echoes the aroma with a tobacco richness, and a faint raisin finish.
Shockingly unique; drinks more like a single malt scotch than an American whiskey. Reminded me of Highland Park 18. This is a must try.
6 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
