Westland's Peat Week Comes to K&L
Westland's 2016 edition of "Peat Week" - a limited edition malt made in celebration of a week-long event the Seattle distillery holds each year in October dedicated to the joys of peated whisky - was a originally a prize for whisky pilgrims who made the voyage to the Pacific Northwest this past Fall. Luckily for us, however, we have friends in high places at the distillery. We managed to get our hands on an exclusive allocation of the 100 proof smoky single malt delight and we think fans of Westland and Islay both are going to be pleased. The 2016 Peat Week commemorative bottling drinks like a smokier version of Talisker, in that it's equally as fruity as it is peaty. There are gobs of creamy banana on the palate that blossom into peaty and smokier notes of campfire framed in sweet barley and vanilla. Think of Caol Ila with less intensity or Kilchoman with more finesse. Or maybe put the Peat Week into its own category as a whole. We've certainly never tasted a peated American single malt this delicious. And, believe me, it's delicious. I can't stop sipping on it because of all that luscious fruit on the entry that sends me back in for more. The finish is a flurry of cinnamon, cloves, and oak spices that come into focus as the peat begins to fade. Westland continues to impress with its precocious line-up of single malt whiskies and the 2016 edition of Peat Week is one of the best releases yet.
You can secure your own bottle here if you'd like to taste this lovely limited edition malt:
Westland "Peat Week" Limited Edition Single Malt Whisky $99.99
...or you can buy a ticket for tomorrow night's festivities at Hard Water on the San Francisco Embarcadero where we'll host Westland's director Matt Freerks for a fancy cocktail party with a full flight tasting (and food!). I just heard from the gang at St. George that most of their distillery will be there as well (considering they're HUGE fans of Westland), so expect a solid crowd of swell folk.
We've still got a few tickets left here:
Westland Peat Week Party @ Hard Water, Weds, Dec 14th @ 7 PM - $50 - Erik Adkins and the Hard Water staff will be bringing out seafood towers packed with smoked clams and Texas toast, shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell, and scallop ceviche. There will also be crabby patty bites with Old Bay tartar sauce, fried chicken and waffle bites, along with single bite tarts for dessert (pumpkin custard with Abbott's Bitters-flavored whipped cream and lemon cream with mascarpone, streusel, and satsuma). Of course, the real story here is the whiskey and Matt Freerks is the perfect person to walk you through a guided tasting of the entire Westland whiskey collection - including the new Peat Week release which will only be available at K&L during December. There are 50 spaces available. There are no paper tickets. Your name will be on the guest list as you arrive at Hard Water.
Either way, you'll be drinking mighty fine!
-David Driscoll