Seattle’s Westland Distillery routinely loans out its used barrels to Pacific Northwest breweries as part of its Cask Exchange project, and this whiskey is the result of a collaboration with Lucky Envelope Brewing in Seattle. It filled the casks with its Imperial Stout beer that had already been in Malbec wine casks, and when the empty casks were returned to Westland, they were filled with a five-malt spirit that had been distilled immediately after one of Westland’s peated spirit runs.

The nose has a gentle smokiness as a result, along with a slightly herbal touch and notes of figs, dates, shortbread cookies, and dried fruits. The taste is smoky and peppery with cinnamon and allspice balanced by dark chocolate, a hint of dates, and dried fruits. The finish is long and spicy with a kiss of smoke. (July, 2020)