Solum Edition 2 is aged an additional year in comparison to Edition 1, which was named the Best American Single Malt by Maxim in 2023
Westland Distillery’s latest release in the Outpost Range is Solum Single Malt Whiskey Edition 2 which features 100% Washington State peated malted barley. Edition 2 leverages Pacific Northwest Peat that was sustainably harvested from a bog approximately 2 hours south of Seattle. The limited release boasts notes of herbs and savory spice (with smoke undertones) thanks to the peat’s unique organic composition and flavor. Master Blender Shane Armstrong notes that the peat’s character contrasts the medicinal and overt wood smoke found in other peated whiskies. For more of the nerdy details on the release, read on below! Stay tuned for a review from Bourbon Lens coming soon.
Fast Facts on Solum Edition 2:
- Style: Peated American Single Malt
- Grain Bill: Skagit Valley Malting Peated Malt, 8-12 ppm
- Proof: 100 (50% ABV)
- Yeast: Belgian Saison Brewer’s Yeast
- Fermentation: 96-144 Hours
- Cask Types: 20 Casks: 4 years 165 days – (5) Casks 6 years, (15) Casks 4 years
- 4 yr. 1st Fill Bourbon 43%
- 6 yr. 1st Fill New American Oak: Cooper’s Reserve 24%
- 4 yr. 1st Fill New American Oak: Cooper’s Reserve 19%
- 4 yr. 1st Fill New American Oak: Cooper’s Select 14%
- Nose: Rosemary bagel, dry tobacco, jasmine, sage
- Palate: Brioche, vanilla graze, fresh dill, green tea, burnt marshmallow
- Price: $149.99 SRP / 700mL
- Availability: 5,212 bottles released globally
Full Details on the Release:
Leading the American single malt category, Westland Distillery continues its exploration of American peat with the release of the second edition of Solum American Single Malt Whiskey, which arrives in its home state of Washington today and later this month throughout the U.S.
In its mission to showcase “a sense of place,” Westland Distillery’s Solum is the third expression in the Outpost Range, annual releases of limited-edition expressions that showcase oak (Garryana), grain (Colere) and peat (Solum), each unique to its Pacific Northwest homeland. Solum Edition 2 features 100% Washington Peated malt, matured in a combination of new and used oak casks to create a robust glass while still showcasing the smoke undertones. The exploration and exhibition of Pacific Northwest Peat in application to Washington-grown barley presents itself in the glass with notes of herbs and savory spice thanks to its unique organic composition and flavor.
Solum is a nod to tradition with an eye to the future. Edition 2 has a very similar structure to the inaugural release except for maturation time. This will be the case for the next few years, which is an interesting way to experience the impact of age. For this lap around the sun, the fresh fruit notes have been supplanted by a complex array of herbs.
Solum contains the most obvious connection to our Pacific Northwest region, while drawing a direct line to the lineage of single malt whiskey making. So far, the flavors trend toward the earthier end of peat, moss and sage, with lighter charred wood notes. This character contrasts the medicinal and overt wood smoke found in other peated whiskies.
Shane Armstrong, Westland’s Master Blender
Harvested from a bog approximately two hours south of Seattle, Westland departed from traditional methods of peat harvest, retrieving the peat from below the bog’s waterline rather than first draining and excavating the bog. This harvesting process was specifically designed to preserve the bog’s ecosystem, preventing the release of greenhouse gasses and ensuring that the bog will be able to continue producing peat into the future – a testament to Westland’s devotion to sustainability.
In comparison to the first edition of Solum, which was released in 2023 and was named the Best American Single Malt by Maxim and one of the Most Exciting New Whiskeys by Men’s Journal, Solum Edition 2 is aged a year longer in cask.
The Outpost Range, which was first introduced in August 2020, features three limited-edition American Single Malt Whiskeys that are released annually — Garryana, Colere, and Solum — each one emblematic of the Seattle distiller’s core mission to push beyond the old-world conventions of single malt. Garryana celebrated its eighth edition in November 2023 and was named the third top whiskey of the year by Whisky Advocate; the third edition of Colere was released in June 2023.
About Westland Distillery
Founded in 2010 and acquired by Remy-Cointreau in 2017, Seattle’s Westland Distillery brings a new and uniquely American voice to the world of single malt whiskey by exploring possibilities that have been ignored for generations. Along the way, Westland has been recognized as the country’s leading producer of American Single Malt Whiskey and founded the formal establishment of the emerging American Single Malt Whiskey category by starting the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission. While the distillery uses the same basic ingredients and processes used for centuries by traditional Old World single malt producers, it does not simply seek to replicate the results of its Scottish predecessors. Instead, Westland works to create whiskeys that reflect the distinct qualities of its time, place, and culture in the Pacific Northwest. All of Westland’s expressions are distilled at the Seattle distillery from 100% malted barley and fermented with a unique Belgian Saison brewer’s yeast before maturing in one of a variety of cask types, including new American oak, ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, and Garry Oak, to name a few.
For information about Westland, please visit www.westlanddistillery.com.
Listen to Bourbon Lens on your favorite podcast app or stream on Spotify. If you’d like to support Bourbon Lens, subscribe to our Patreon, sign up for our “Weekly Pour” Newsletter, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
If you like cocktails, subscribe to our second podcast, Cocktails with Friends. Cocktails with Friends is hosted by our good friend and partner, Bob Cutler.
Recent Bourbon Lens Coverage
- Ol’ New Riff Bourbon and Rye Whiskey Launched as a Distilling Throwback
- Explore America’s Best Distilleries with New Book from Colin Spoelman: The Bourbon Drinker’s Companion
- New Weller Millennium from Buffalo Trace Celebrates Wheat Whiskey
- Historic Oxmoor Farm Announces New Bourbon & Tasting Experience
- Beam Distilling Introduces Chapter 8 of the Little Book Series
- Augusta Distillery Names Alex Castle as Their First Master Distiller
