[Quick review] Westward - 5 years old (The Heart Cut) 50%



Today brings a sample of Westward American single malt, from @theheartcut a relatively new independent bottler on the whisky scene.

The couple behind The Heart Cut are definitely no whisky newbies though (Georgie Belle-Leoni & Fabrizio Leoni) and they have been collaborating with distilleries across the world to release one-off single cask and small-batch bottlings.

From Danish single malt to Israeli to English to American, their releases definitely take you on a world tour of amazing liquid!

This one is their latest release, a 5 year-old Westward single malt from Portland, distilled 22-03-2018, aged in new American oak and bottled 08-08-2023 at 50%.


As far as the cask is concerned, the website gives you an insight in why they chose it:

“THIS MADE THE CUT BECAUSE

The newly emerged American Single Malt Whiskey category is gaining momentum, and there’s one distillery we’ve had eyes on since the start. Hailing from the American Northwest, an area abundant with barley, Westward Whiskey in Portland, Oregon, crafts an incredibly balanced and fruit-forward single malt whiskey.

This cask blew us away with its super juicy and tropical character. Enjoyed straight or paired with an American Pale Ale, it’s a whiskey that just gets better with every sip. Enjoy!”


Distillery: Westward

Bottler: The Heart Cut

Age: 5 years old

Distilled: 22/03/2018

Bottled: 08/08/2023

Cask: new American oak cask

Abv: 50%

Unchillfiltered: Yes

Natural Colour: Yes

Nb of bottles: 396

Price: £84

Extra: 7th release from The Heart Cut


My tasting notes:


Nose: The nose is fantastically fruity with a lot of peach and passion fruit, oak spice, almond and coconut.

Palate: The palate and sweet and chewy, again a lot of fruit, waxy citrus, fresh oak spice, cinnamon, slight bitter orange. Tasty!

Finish: The finish is long and warming, waxy, malty biscuits, slight candied ginger, oak spice and citrus fruit.


This is absolutely delicious and some of the notes got me a little Clynelish vibe at time! It also reminded me how good single malt in Virgin oak can be!


Slàinte all!

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