Contents
Deacon Seat was the first whiskey released under the Westland name, and a preview of what would become the American Oak bottling: Five Malt in new American oak.
Specifications
- Grain Bill: Five Malt
- Cask Type: New American Oak, #4 Char
- Maturation Time: 26 Months
Release Info
- Spirit Type: American Single Malt Whiskey
- Release Name: Deacon Seat
- Release Date: September 2013
- ABV: 46%
- Size: 375ml (cork), boxed
- MSRP: $40
- Total Bottled: 5000
From the Distillery
- Release Number: 0001
- “Any undertaking - great or small - must have a beginning. It is the intention of this beginning, the way by which you set out, that is important. During the opening of the West, the first task for axe men in a new logging camp was to fell a tree, halve it, then lay it flat side up. This became the Deacon Seat, a bench that ran the length of the eventual bunkhouse and became the center of camp life. The Deacon Seat was a place to rest, a place to band together over a dram of whiskey, a place of level ground upon which to build one’s place in the West.
This whiskey is our Deacon Seat. Our first step. It is the first whiskey released that will bear the Westland name and we put it forward proud of our beginning. For us, this American Single Malt Whiskey is our own crossing into a new frontier. Long years of work have been leading to this moment. That’s worth commemorating. While we take pause to acknowledge our start, we gather to look towards the endeavor before us with reverence, steel intentions, and the blood of stubborn, persistent ancestors in our veins. We will not disappoint them.” - Flavor Profile: “The introduction greets the nose with aromas of orange marmalade, powdered doughnut and freshly made waffle cone. With a little patience and continued nosing the whiskey reveals even more in the form of crème brulee, mocha and apple fritter dusted with cinnamon.
The palate adds French vanilla custard to the waffle cone as well as a quick dash of pepper and ginger before settling on rainier cherries and bitter chocolate through to the finish.”
On the Box
- “We are the Custodians of all We Inherit”
- See paragraph in From the Distillery section
Awards
- American Distilling Institute Awards 2014 - Bronze
- International Wine & Spirit Competition 2014 - Silver
Links
- Westland Distillery: Deacon Seat (archive.org)
- Westland Distillery Blog: Thoughtfully Made: The Through Line of Westland Whiskey
- Seattle Mag: Washington State Distillers Embrace American Single Malt Whiskey
Databases
- TTB: COLA 11157001000086
- TTB: COLA 13212001000037
- Whiskybase: Westland Deacon Seat (WB60653)
- Whiskystats: Westland Deacon Seat (Release No. 0001)
Reviews
- Thrillist: 8 locally made liquors go head-to-head in the greatest Seattle spirits face-off ever
- WhiskyCast: Westland Deacon Seat Single Malt
Archivist’s Tasting Notes
- “It’s clearly the predecessor of the eventual American Oak release - five-malt spirit in new American oak. And yet. It’s not exactly timid…but it’s polite, and gentle. The oak has shaved the edges off the new make but does not overwhelm the spirit. Not quite the boldness of what the American Oak release would eventually be. On the whole, it’s quite balanced. But also, sadly, somehow almost bland.”
