Tasting

Scottish smoke or American corn sweetness: that's what many expect from the first sip. A whiskey from Washington or Oregon usually tastes like something else entirely.

Westland's unpeated core range from Seattle is distilled from several different malts. It tastes of malt, honey, and light caramel, with a dry, almost bready note. This note comes from the diversity of barley varieties used.

The same distillery's peated Solum bottling, by contrast, brings smoke to the glass. It's an earthy, mossy, sage-like smoke from the Washington bog, quite different from the medicinal, iodine tone many Islay fans expect.

Copperworks American Single Malt is double-distilled in copper and matured in charred, new American oak barrels. It comes across sweeter and rounder than the Westland whiskeys, with vanilla, toasted grain, and a hint of fresh oak in the glass.

Westward Whiskey from Portland ferments its mash with brewer's yeast instead of ordinary distiller's yeast and distills it in a slow, low-reflux still. The result feels bolder and spicier, almost like a bridge between craft beer and classic single malt.

All three are best tasted neat, without ice. A glass of still water belongs alongside, along with a nosing glass with a narrow opening that concentrates the delicate aromas. Only afterward should you add a single drop of water to open up the nose and reveal hidden notes. Taste all three in a row and you'll notice the difference between Seattle and Portland right in the glass: one city favors malt diversity and the occasional bog smoke, the other brewer's yeast and a heavier low wine.