About Westland

Westland Distillery is a distillery located in Seattle, founded in 2010 by Emerson Lamb and Matthew Hofmann¹, and focused exclusively on distilling American Single Malt. It was acquired by Rémy Cointreau in 2016²³. Westland is perhaps most widely known for their focus on local ingredients including local barley, Garryana oak, and local Washington Peat. Westland has also distilled gin on at least three occasions (Westland Gimbal gin, Elysian Jessamine gin, and 3Finger Grey Jay gin) as well as exclusively distilling hand sanitizer for a time during the Covid-19 pandemic.⁴ Contract whiskey distilling has been performed for Wanderback (Oregon), and at least one employee has mentioned a Westland-distilled apple brandy. In recent years, Westland has added a bottled cocktail and a blended whiskey (Watchpost) to their lineup.

Production Details

Yeast

Unless otherwise specified, Westland always uses a Belgian Saison Brewer’s yeast⁵. The fermentation time runs 96-144 hours. The yeast is SafAle T-58. (Whisky Advocate reported the yeast to be SafAle 258, which is an easy mishearing.)⁶⁷. Fermentation is done around 26 degrees Celsius.⁸

Barley

Westland’s primary distilling focus in the early years was three different grain bills⁹:

Five Malt - a custom blend of malts
100% Washington Pale Malt
100% Peated Malt

Westland has also distilled single varietal barleys such as Golden Promise, Pilsen, Maris Otter, Alba, Talisman, Pilot Pale Malt, Fritz, and others. Some of these may be listed as ordinary “Pale Malt” on packaging or promotional materials.

Peated Malt

Up until 2019, Westland sourced Bairds Heavily Peated Malt from Scotland. Bairds sources their peat from Aberdeenshire¹⁰. No additional peated malt has been sourced from Scotland since 2019. (One commenter in the StraightBourbon forums stated in 2013 that they learned during a tour that the peated malt was being sourced from Port Ellen Maltings, but I have not found anything to corroborate that¹¹.)

In parallel, Westland worked to obtain access to a local peat bog and used that to distill locally-peated malt between 2016 and 2023.

Stills

Westland’s first (likely not legal) distilling took place in a converted garage belonging to the Lamb family located near Mason Lake in Washington state¹. There is little documentation about the equipment involved during these early experiments. There are photos in the Our West Is Whiskey book of bottles labeled with “Mason Lake Malts” but I’ve so far been unable to track down details in order to more fully document¹.

In September 2010, Westland acquired a business license and in October purchased the assets of a small distilling company named Smith and Sullivan located in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle (9320 15th Avenue South)¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵. It’s unclear if the distilling equipment from Smith and Sullivan was ever used. In May 2011, an 800-liter Christian Carl still arrived from Germany.¹ On June 21, distilling began using the new still and Westland usually celebrates this date as the anniversary of the company¹¹⁶. Per the West of Tradition documentary brewing during this period was done at an unnamed nearby brewery.¹⁷

In 2012, Westland signed a lease on the current 13,000-square foot distillery location at 2931 First Ave. South in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, a 1919 warehouse previously used by Ederer Co. for making cranes¹¹⁸¹⁹. In October, the new custom Vendome stills arrived¹. The building underwent extensive remodeling and officially opened in May of 2013¹²⁰²¹²². It’s unclear exactly when distilling switched to the new stills - an interview with Matthew Hofmann in June 2013 describes the new stills as having recently been hooked up²³. Westland does not seem to have disclosed the cask number of the transition between stills, but per conversations with Master Distiller Tyler Pederson it is likely somewhere around the 300th cask.²⁴

The Vendome stills are both hybrid stills - onion-neck copper pot stills with column stills on top. Column still plates are only used in the wash still. The wash still is 2000 gallons (7,570 liters), and the spirits still is 1500 gallons (5,670 liters). In a reddit AMA in 2015, the distillery volume was described as a little more than 4 casks per distillation day with distillation running 4 days per week, giving a slightly less than 20 casks per week¹⁰. In a 2022 interview, Tyler described the typical output as around 900 liters per day at 70% ABV⁸. During distillation, the cuts are made using sensory observations.

In August of 2013, the Christian Carl still was sold off via the ProBrewer forums²³²⁵.

Casks

Initially, Westland’s focused on casks made of new American oak from Independent Stave Company and ex-Sherry casks from Tonelería del Sur. In interviews Westland personnel have stated that new American oak barrels are filled at 55% ABV and other barrel types are filled at 62.5% in order to encourage greater cask reactivity of the used casks.²⁶

American Oak

The new American oak has generally been ISC’s Cooper’s Select²⁷²⁸²⁹ and Cooper’s Reserve³⁰³¹. Release details often specify simply “New American Oak” without distinguishing. Char and toast levels are typically not specified in the release notes.

Other Wood Types

Since November 2011, Westland has periodically laid down spirit in Garryana oak casks typically sourced from Oregon Barrel Works and ReWine Barrels.

Westland has also used casks made from French oak, Hungarian oak, Maple wood (typically used, from Jack Daniels), and others.

Previously-used Casks

Westland has made extensive use of used casks of a wide variety of types including refill Westland, whiskey (bourbon, rye), spirits (Amaretto, Amaro, Aquavit, Brandy, Calvados, Mezcal, Rum, Tequila), sherry (Oloroso, Pedro Ximénez, Moscatel), wine (Amarone, Banyuls, Cabernet Sauvignon, Jurancon, Madeira, Marsala, Nebbiolo, Pajarete, Pineau des Charentes, Port, Sauternes, Syrah). Since the acquisition by Rémy Cointreau some of these casks come from other distilleries within the Rémy portfolio such as Mount Gay Rum.

Westland also engages in cask exchange activities with breweries where the cask is returned to Westland after being used for beer and Westland then uses it again for single malt.

Maturation and Bottling

Since 2022, the distillate is trucked to Burlington, WA where it is then barreled and stored. Previously barreling was done at the distillery or in Hoquiam, WA. Approximately 7,000 barrels were relocated from Hoquiam to Burlington in the summer of 2022.

The rackhouses in Burlington use dunnage-style stacking (3 casks high). They are not climate-controlled. It was mentioned in the Reddit AMA that the first 300 casks had been aged in a heated rackhouse which caused high extraction from the new American oak casks¹⁰.

Bottling is currently performed on-site in Burlington, WA. Westland does not use chill-filtration.

In addition, a few hundred barrels are aging in the Cask Room at the distillery in Seattle.

Timeline

An incomplete timeline of Westland history.

September 2010 — Westland founded by Matt Hofmann and Emerson Lamb¹
October 2010 — Distilling operations move to the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, in a space formerly occupied by Smith and Sullivan¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵
February 2011 — Westland acquires their Distilled Spirits Plant (DSP) Permit, allowing them to commercially distill¹
May 2011 — 800-liter Christian Carl still arrives from Germany¹
June 21, 2011 — Westland commences their first commercial distillation, filling casks 1 and 2 which still sit in the distillery Cask Room today (2026)¹¹⁶
November 2011 — First Garryana cask filled¹
May 2013 — Current distillery location in SoDo neighborhood opens, with the new stills in place²⁰²¹²²
October 27, 2013 — Westland’s second whiskey release American Single Malt (later renamed American Oak)
April 1, 2015 — First April Fools’ release: Tukwila Reposado
October 2015 — Westland hosts their first Peat Week celebration
November 2015 — Emerson Lamb departs Westland³²
July 14, 2016 — Garryana Edition 1 released
December 1, 2016 — Rémy Cointreau announces acquisition of Westland²
January 6, 2017 — Rémy Cointreau completes acquisition of Westland³³³³⁴
2019 — Westland stops sourcing peated malt from Bairds²⁴
June 2021 — Flagship released, replacing the Core Range
September 29, 2021 — Cask 10,000 is filled³⁵
Summer 2022 — Casks moved from Hoquiam to Burlington (Skagit Valley)³⁶³⁷³⁸³⁹⁴⁰⁴¹
February 10, 2023 — Tyler Pederson named Distillery Manager of the Year by Whisky Magazine⁴²
March 11, 2023 — Solum Edition 1 released, Westland’s first release using locally-sourced peat
June 2023 — Matt Hofmann departs; Tyler Pederson becomes Master Distiller⁴³⁴⁴⁴⁵⁴⁶⁴⁷⁴⁸
December 15, 2023 — Garryana 8 awarded third place in the world by Whisky Advocate⁴⁹
February 2024 — Westland achieves B Corp certification⁵⁰⁵¹⁵²
June 27, 2024 — Matthew Hofmann announces first barrels filled of a new personal project⁵³
October 2024 — Matt Hofmann announced as directing the whiskey program at Talking Cedar⁵⁴⁵⁵
December 18, 2024 — American Single Malt Whiskey definition ratified by the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau)⁵⁶⁵⁷
January 19, 2025 — American Single Malt Whiskey definition goes into effect
August 1, 2025 — Watchpost American Blended Whiskey released⁵⁸
September 2025 — Westland announces theft of 12,000 bottles including Garryana Edition 10⁵⁹
October 18, 2025 — Garryana Edition 10 released. Westland’s first age statement whiskey at 10 years old⁶⁰
2025 — Five Malt is reformulated with only USA-grown barley
September 2026 — West of Tradition documentary film is released⁶¹

Westland Distillery - Our West Is Whiskey: Ten Years of Exploring Provenance in American Single Malt Whiskey, 2021 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³
Remy Cointreau: Acquisition of Westland American single malt whiskey ↩ ↩²
Remy Cointreau: Closing of the Westland Distillery Acquisition ↩ ↩²
USA Today 10 Best: Good spirits: These distilleries are now making hand sanitizer ↩
Westland: Transparency in Production ↩
Whisky Advocate: With One Recipe But Many Styles American Single Malt Is In The Spotlight ↩
Fermentis: Beer & Brewing Solutions: SafAle T-58 ↩
Whisky Me: Westland ↩ ↩²
Malt Mileage: Q&A with Westland Distillery (Seattle, USA) ↩
reddit: r/worldwhisky We’re Westland Distillery, ask us anything! ↩ ↩² ↩³
Straight Bourbon: Westland Distillery - American Single Malts ↩
Seattle Met: Spiritmakers Come to South Park ↩ ↩²
Seattle Mag: Sample Spirits from Seattle’s New Distilleries ↩ ↩²
My Northwest: Seattle student starts distillery with high school friend (archive.org) ↩ ↩²
Daily Journal of Commerce: Whiskey distillery now open in Sodo ↩ ↩²
Instagram: matthewhofmann - Today we’ve reached a milestone ↩ ↩²
West of Tradition, 2026 ↩
The Whisk(e)y Wash: Seattle’s Westland Distillery Looks To Lead American Single Malt Pack ↩
Cascade PBS: The best single malt in Seattle? Check Westland Distillery ↩
Abbott Construction: Congratulations Westland team! ↩ ↩²
Upward Architecture: Westland Distillery ↩ ↩²
Abbot Construction: Westland Distillery ↩ ↩²
Briess: Coming soon to Westland Distilling ↩ ↩²
Conversations with distilery employees ↩ ↩²
reddit: r/firewater Craft Distillery Equipment For Sale - 800-liter rated Cristian Carl Pot Still ↩
Whisky Me: Westland ↩
ISC: Product Spotlight - Cooper’s Select ↩
ISC: Product Profile: Cooper’s Select ↩
ISC: Cooper’s Select ↩
ISC: Product Profile: Cooper’s Reserve Barrel ↩
ISC: Cooper’s Reserve ↩
Eater Seattle: Emerson Lamb is OUT at Westland Distillery ↩
Fred Minnick: Westland and American Whiskey Independence ↩
Fred Minnick: Westland’s Response to Critical Blog Post ↩
Instagram: matthewhofmann - We hit a milestore yesterday ↩
Upward Architecture: Westland Rackhouses ↩
Trico: Westland Distillery - Skagit Valley Campus ↩
SSF Enginers: SoDo-based distillery expands to the Skagit Valley ↩
Archinect: Westland Distillery Rackhouses ↩
Go Skagit: Distillery opens whiskey facility to continue work with barley in Skagit County ↩
Westland Bartender Field Guide: Westland Distillery Sustainability Report (archive.org) ↩
Whisky Magazine: Whisky Magazine Awards 2023 America results revealed ↩
Instagram: matthewhofmann - Some big personal news ↩
WhiskyCast: Changing of the Guard at Seattle’s Westland Distillery ↩
The Northwest Beer Guide: From Barley to Barrel: A Journey Through Westland Distillery with Tyler Pederson ↩
Bartender Spirit Awards: From Homebrewer to Master Distiller: Tyler Pederson’s Journey at Westland Distillery ↩
The Whisk(e)y Wash: Westland Whiskey Looks To The Future As New Distillery Leaders Emerge ↩
Modern Bar Cart The Podcast: Episode 283 Spilling the Tea on American Single Malt ↩
Whisky Advocate: Top 20: The Most Exciting Whiskies of 2023 ↩
B Corporation: Westland Distillery ↩
Westland Distillery: B Corp and Active Stewardship ↩
PR Newswire: WESTLAND DISTILLERY ACHIEVES CERTIFIED B CORP™ STATUS ↩
Instagram: matthewhofmann - I’m excited to announce ↩
Whisky Advocate: Matt Hofmann to Lead the Whiskey Program at Washington Distiller Talking Cedar ↩
Fred Minnick: Talking Cedar Announces Whiskey Program Expansion ↩
Federal Register: Addition of American Single Malt Whisky to the Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits ↩
TTB: TTB Establishes ‘American Single Malt Whisky’ Standard of Identity ↩
Sip Magazine: Announcing Watchpost American Blended Whiskey From the Team at Westland Distillery ↩
AP News: Thieves steal $1M worth in craft whiskey from Washington distillery ↩
Westland Distillery: A Monumental Moment: The unveiling of Garryana 10 at Westland Distillery ↩
Remy Cointreau: Blacksmith & Jones presents West of Tradition, a new documentary on the story of American Single Malt Whiskey ↩