Westland

Type: Distillery and brand

Westland is a Seattle distillery and American single malt whiskey brand associated with malted barley, Pacific Northwest oak and locally sourced peat. Its distilling site is in SoDo; reporting in 2025 described maturation in Washington’s Skagit Valley, and Rémy Cointreau announced completion of its acquisition on 6 January 2017.[1][4][10][11]

What Westland is known for

Westland’s distinguishing subject is the Pacific Northwest itself: its barley, its peat and its Garry oak. The distillery says it has distilled more than 30 barley varieties, and its Outpost collection separates those interests into three named strands, Garryana, Colere and Solum.[1][11][12]

That makes barley more than a background ingredient in the account Westland gives of its whiskey. The producer records its first distillation of heritage barley varieties, which it calls “boutique malt”, in 2015, followed by the creation of a Washington State University Barley Fellowship in 2019.[1]

Wood receives similarly specific attention. Garry oak, Quercus garryana, grows wild in the Pacific Northwest, and Westland says it takes its wood only from fallen trees.[11] The resulting story is about particular raw materials and documented production choices, rather than an assumed flavour shared by every whiskey from Washington.

Barley, yeast, peat and oak

Westland’s mash bill, the grain recipe used to make its spirit, is 100 percent malted barley. Fermentation uses a Belgian saison brewer’s yeast, another deliberate choice within a production account that gives grain and brewing an unusually prominent role.[11]

Westland reports distilling more than 30 barley varieties.[11]

Claim: Westland has distilled more barley varieties than the whole Scotch whisky industry over the same period.
Verdict: Legend
What the record shows: Westland’s marketing director has made the comparison.[11]
Evidence against or gap: No independent count supports it.
Earliest known source: Not established in the supplied record.
Sources: InsideHook account.
Last checked: November 2026; the exact day is not established.

Westland describes Solum as its first peated American single malt and says it uses native peat from Washington’s Skagit Valley, although Peated appeared in the 2016 core range.[1][3][7] Other reporting describes a local peat source on the Olympic Peninsula.[11] These accounts do not establish one exclusive peat source for every Westland whiskey.

Garryana gives the oak work its clearest expression. For Garryana 10, reporting describes Westland’s Signature Five Malt and Washington Pale Malts matured in first-fill and second-fill Garry oak casks alongside casks previously used for Pedro Ximénez, rum and bourbon.[11] That is a mixed cask programme, not a claim that the whiskey matured exclusively in Garry oak.

The ranges and named whiskies

The Outpost collection provides the simplest route through Westland’s published interests. Garryana concerns Garry oak, Colere gives barley a separate platform, and Solum addresses locally sourced peat.[1][12] The producer’s collection page lists Garryana 7th Edition, Colere Edition 4 and Solum Edition 3; these are documented listings, not a complete release chronology.[12]

Garryana began in 2016 with an edition blended by Shane Armstrong.[8] In 2025, Garryana 10 Year became the tenth edition and, according to the producer and reporting, Westland’s first age-stated whiskey.[2][11] The edition number and the age statement therefore describe different things, even though both happen to be ten in this release.

Other named whiskies include Flagship, made from six malts including some peated barley, and Watchpost, described in reporting as a blend.[10][11] Earlier names belong to an earlier stage of the business: at the time of the acquisition agreement in December 2016, the core range comprised American Single Malt, Peated and Sherry Wood.[3][7]

From South Park to SoDo

The founders’ connection preceded the distillery. Emerson Lamb and Matt Hofmann were Washington natives who met at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma; a 2013 report says that, beginning in Scotland in 2009, they had visited more than 100 distilleries in the United States and Europe.[6]

When Lamb approached him, Hofmann was studying economics at the University of Washington and had been accepted for Heriot-Watt’s brewing and distilling master’s course in Edinburgh.[6] Lamb told the same reporter that his family’s timber-business background supported the building and early running of Westland.[6]

Story box: Building a Seattle malt distillery

Claim: Westland was founded in 2010.
Verdict: Disputed
What the record shows: The owner gives 2010, and Westland’s timeline begins that year; InsideHook gives 2011.[1][2][11]
Evidence against or gap: The accounts use different founding years, while the producer separately dates first distillation to 2011.[1][11]
Earliest known source: The earliest founding-year source is not established in the supplied record.
Sources: Owner’s account, producer’s timeline, InsideHook account.
Last checked: 7 November 2026.

Production and ownership timeline

The useful dates separate making spirit, welcoming visitors and changing ownership. They also distinguish an acquisition agreement from its subsequent completion announcement.

Claim: Westland’s first whiskey was released in September 2013.
Verdict: Disputed
What the record shows: Whisky Advocate gives September 2013; an October report described a release planned for 27 October.[6][7]
Evidence against or gap: The planned date does not itself establish when the release occurred.
Earliest known source: Not established in the supplied record.
Sources: Daily Journal of Commerce; Whisky Advocate.
Last checked: November 2026; the exact day is not established.

The acquisition means Westland should not be described as independently owned. Its Seattle origins and production identity are separate questions from its corporate ownership.[4]

The people after the founders

Tyler Pederson has been master distiller since 2023, according to Rémy Cointreau. He joined Westland in 2013 and also studied brewing and distilling at Heriot-Watt.[2]

Shane Armstrong has been master blender since 2019 and was part of the team from its earliest days, according to the owner’s account.[2] His connection with Garryana reaches back to blending the first edition, released in 2016.[8]

Claim: Matt Hofmann left Westland in 2023.
Verdict: Disputed
What the record shows: VinePair reports an announcement in May; The Spirits Business reports a departure in June.[8][9]
Evidence against or gap: An announcement and a departure are different events, so the reports do not establish one shared date.
Earliest known source: Not established in the supplied record.
Sources: VinePair; The Spirits Business.
Last checked: November 2026; the exact day is not established.

American single malt and Westland

American single malt is no longer merely an informal category description. The US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau published its standard of identity on 18 December 2024, with an effective date of 19 January 2025.[5]

The agency’s summary specifies 100 percent malted barley, distillation entirely at one US distillery, distillation at no more than 80% ABV (160 US proof), ageing in oak casks of no more than 700 litres, and bottling at no less than 40% ABV (80 US proof).[5] Westland’s documented malted-barley recipe belongs in that context, rather than being explained as an American version of bourbon.[11]

Before planning a visit

Westland’s SoDo premises opened as a tasting room and visitor space in 2013.[1] That historical opening is not a statement of present booking conditions: check the producer’s current information for access, reservations, accessibility and age requirements before travelling.

Where to go next

• Balcones: continue through another American distillery profile.
• Maker's Mark: explore another producer’s distinct identity.
• Jack Daniel's: follow a different American distillery history.

Sources

1. Westland Distillery. A Westland Time Capsule: a Look Back Over the Years. Producer’s account, undated in the supplied record. https://westlanddistillery.com/blogs/news/a-westland-time-capsule-a-look-back-over-the-years.
2. Rémy Cointreau. Westland Distillery. Producer’s account, undated in the supplied record. https://www.remy-cointreau.com/en/brands/westland-distillery/.
3. Rémy Cointreau. Acquisition of Westland American single malt whiskey. Acquisition announcement, 1 December 2016. https://www.remy-cointreau.com/app/uploads/2016/12/Acquisition-of-Westland-Single-Malt.pdf.
4. Rémy Cointreau. Acquisition effective de la distillerie Westland. Completion announcement, 6 January 2017. https://www.remy-cointreau.com/app/uploads/2017/01/Acquisition-Effective-Westland.pdf.
5. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. TTB Establishes 'American Single Malt Whisky' Standard of Identity. Agency summary of the standard published in 2024 and effective in 2025. https://www.ttb.gov/public-information/featured-stories/ttb-establishes-american-single-malt-whisky-standard-identity/.
6. Daily Journal of Commerce. Whiskey distillery now open in Sodo. October 2013. https://www.djc.com/news/ae/12058353.html.
7. Whisky Advocate. Westland Distillery Sold To Rémy Cointreau. 2016. https://whiskyadvocate.com/westland-distillery-sold-to-remy-cointreau.
8. The Spirits Business. A new chapter for Westland and American single malt. October 2023. https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2023/10/a-new-chapter-for-westland-and-american-single-malt/.
9. VinePair. Craft Whiskey's Most Successful Founders Are Departing the Companies They Created. 2023. https://vinepair.com/articles/craft-whiskey-founders-departing-companies/.
10. Associated Press. Thieves steal craft whiskey from Washington distillery. Headline shortened under the site’s editorial restrictions, 2025. https://apnews.com/6d6de03c0ee35d4df689b5e480bdb33f.
11. InsideHook. How Westland Survived a Whiskey Heist. Headline shortened under the site’s editorial restrictions, 2025. https://www.insidehook.com/whiskey/westland-distillery-whiskey-garryana-heist.
12. Westland Distillery. Outpost Range Collection. Producer’s collection page, undated in the supplied record. https://westlanddistillery.com/collections/outpost-range-collection.

This article is desk research based solely on the supplied verified fact sheet, separating producer accounts, corporate announcements, agency guidance and independent reporting.

Last checked: November 2026.