Seattle distillery has won fans and awards by betting on WA ingredients

The "authenticity" of food and drinks is often tied to origin: True Champagne is made properly only in that region of France, while specific Italian regions make real, DOP Parmigiano-Reggiano. And don't ask New Yorkers about the purportedly special water used to make their pizza dough.

The world of whiskey is no different. The founders of Seattle's Westland Distillery had that sentiment reiterated to them ad nauseam on a research trip to Scotland years ago.

"When Matt (Hofmann) and Emerson (Lamb) founded this company, they went to Scotland, and they were telling folks they were going to start a single malt distillery, and they got some good nods," said Westland master distiller Tyler Pederson. "Then they mentioned they were going to be aging this spirit in new American oak … and they were laughed at."

The Scottish distillers - stewards of single malt Scotch whisky - said using new American oak barrels would buck tradition while creating an inferior product, overpowering the delicate flavors of the spirit made with barley. They wrote it off as a pointless experiment.

But Pederson says Westland has always had an ethos of respecting tradition while asking "questions every step of the way."

That mentality has paid off. Since its launch in 2011, the company has racked up hardware at the World Whiskies Awards, and its spirits have twice been ranked among the very best in the world by Whisky Advocate.

As it turns out, award-winning whiskey can be aged in new American oak barrels - and Washington is one of the best places on Earth to make single malt whiskey.

Today, Westland bottles showcase many Pacific Northwest-grown ingredients, from Washington barleys to the Northwest's native Garry oak, which is used (in addition to sherry and Washington red wine casks) to age the acclaimed Garryana single malt whiskey.

"We have unique barley. Unique species of oak that create amazing, unique flavors in the whiskey. You also have peat that is sourceable in the area," said Westland President Jason Moore.

"Think about all of what's known in flavor for traditional single malt whiskey" - rich sweetness and peaty smoke from fresh ingredients like malted barley and oak - "all of it's true within 50 to 100 miles of Seattle."

Lamb and Hofmann, who left the company in 2015 and 2023, respectively, had "clarity and conviction" when starting the distillery, Moore said. The vision remains the same, even after the company was acquired by an international brand: Westland is capable of making some of the world's best whiskey.

Washington is a big part of the reason why.

Writing a new definition

Zooming out: What does it even mean to drink American single malt whiskey?

The new government designation is intended to help set quality standards, inspire whiskey-makers to experiment, and to define the whiskey category. American single malt whiskey must be distilled from 100% malted barley to a proof of 160 or lower, stored in oak barrels, and bottled at 80 proof or higher. All the mashing, distilling and aging must be done in the United States, and the distilling must take place entirely at one facility.

That's the textbook answer. As for what makes a particular single malt whiskey special, every ingredient matters: the type of barley malted in the mash, the water used to cook the grains, the wooden staves in the spirit-aging barrels - and the barrels themselves.

Washington isn't a great place to grow corn or rye (the grains used to make bourbon whiskey). But it's great for barley.

Westland distillers combine different barleys to create their individual mash bills (simply, a whiskey recipe). Like roasting coffee beans, barley can be malted to different levels to bring out different flavors. Different varieties bring unique flavors to the glass, too.

The American Malting Barley Association lists 40 approved strains of malting barley. Growing outside those 40 can be risky; these strains serve established customers on the commodity market and they yield starch-rich grains that are good for making whiskey and beer.

Westland is comfortable taking chances.

In 2020, the company purchased 80 acres in the Skagit Valley, reserving 20 acres for dedicated barrel warehouses to mature whiskey. The remaining 60 acres hosts a certified organic farm that's dedicated to trialing new barley varieties.

Westland has been working with the WSU BreadLab since 2014, researching different varieties and asking farmers to consider growing different strains. It's partnered with Dave Hedlin and Serena Campbell, the third-generation owners of Hedlin Farms in the Skagit Valley, since the early days of the company. Hedlin grows around 20 acres of barley, some of which eventually ends up in glasses of Westland's whiskey.

When Westland was purchased by Rémy Cointreau in 2017, Hedlin feared it spelled the end of their partnership. Hedlin admits he was skeptical before he hosted the international spirits brand's Americas CEO for dinner in the Hedlin barn shortly after the acquisition.

"I said we're interested in a race to the top, and he said, ‘That's exactly what we're about,' and eight, 10 years later - that's it," Hedlin recalled.

Moore says the acquisition gave Westland the "ability to think longer term and invest with more confidence, including projects like the farm. It created stability and resources that allow us to plan years and even decades ahead, which is essential in whiskey."

He said the company's mission hasn't deviated.

"Westland is still run as a Pacific Northwest distillery with a strong local identity," Moore said. "Everything we do, from sourcing raw ingredients to maturation to the labels on our bottles, comes back to place."

Westland does not source all of its malted barley in Washington; the company also uses malt from farmers in Wisconsin to build specific flavors.

"But our focus remains the same," Moore said. "We are committed to working with growers and partners in the Pacific Northwest wherever possible and continuing to anchor our whiskey in this region."

The investment in new barley strains is a part of that identity. So are the relationships behind the product.

"These people are growing our food, and we want this infrastructure to exist," Pederson said.

"Let's start asking our farmers what they want to grow. And we'd like to think that we can be mindful whiskey-makers and work with and around those raw materials … and optimize that for something that's compelling, with a great story, has amazing flavor - but is sustainable not only for the land but for the supply chain."

From barley to barrel

The barrel used to age whiskey is just as important as the spirit's raw ingredients. Aging barrels are another way that Westland has differentiated its product - by using Washington wood.

Those barrels, not the barley, were the issue for those Scottish distillers way back when.

The Scotch masters believed the tannins in new American oak would override the delicate taste of a barley-made spirit. So Westland looked to friends in the Washington wine industry for a creative solution. The whiskey-makers used slow-growth oak barrels with staves that had been air-dried for two to three years, using biological elements to naturally break down tannins and create a finished barrel that was perfect for whiskey.

The result: a critically acclaimed, award-winning cult-favorite whiskey bottle.

Westland blender Shane Armstrong helps lead the distillery's Garry oak initiative, which uses the rare Quercus garryana species of oak for staves. The oak only grows from Northern California to southern British Columbia.

It's a scarce product with brittle, twisted wood that varies from year to year. It had never been commercially harvested before Westland found a way to work with the oak species.

The resultant product - Westland's Garryanna line - has become one of the most acclaimed American single malts in the country.

The spirit is somewhat rare. Precious, even. Even more so after half of the entire inventory of the Garryanna 10 whiskey release was stolen last year.

It has yet to be recovered.

"I like to think there's a die-hard Westland fan out there (with it)," Pederson said.

Raise a glass

Westland has long earned fans with its focus on championing a sense of terroir through whiskey.

"I still have the first package (Westland) gave out," said Sara Rosales, co-owner of West Seattle American whiskey bar Lady Jaye. She was managing Radiator Whiskey at the time. "I was excited because I could tell it was well-made."

Rosales says she hasn't "loved everything they've done" over the past decade, but she recognizes that Westland is an "incredibly important brand."

"The fact that they're using terroir in their whiskeys is just so cool," Rosales said. "And now you have giant brands who are fighting to get an American single malt out, following suit because they're seeing the category as becoming important."

Cocktail book author, consultant and mixologist Nick Mautone agrees. He was first introduced to Westland while managing New York City's Rainbow Room, putting a Westland cocktail on the menu there in 2016. When Mautone moved to the Seattle area in 2019, he quickly paid a visit to Westland's Sodo distillery.

"I'm a true fan of their desire to maintain sustainability of the distillery," Mautone said. "They work with farmers (who use regenerative farming), that's an ethos that's near and dear to my heart. From a spirit mindset, the whiskey is just damn good."

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 6:51 AM.