Marking the official launch of the third and final expression in their Outpost Range, Westland Distillery recently announced the release of Solum Edition 1 American Single Malt Whiskey (50%ABV, 700ml, $149.99 SRP). This limited annual bottling is the first nationally available single malt whiskey to showcase American peated malt, sourced from Washington’s Skagit Valley.
Westland Distillery’s Solum Edition 1 completes the Outpost Range story of oak (Garryana), barley (Colere) and peat (Solum) unique to its Pacific Northwest homeland. With its unique and location-specific botanical mix, this Pacific Northwest peat imparts a distinct flavor profile to the resulting whiskey.
“The peat of the Pacific Northwest has a completely different organic makeup than that of Scotland, resulting in a totally different flavor profile,” says Westland Co-Founder Matt Hofmann. “Botanicals like Labrador Tea, an aromatic shrub, bring unique qualities to our regional peat.”
Harvested from a bog approximately two hours south of Seattle, Westland departed from traditional methods of peat harvest, retrieving it from below the bog’s waterline rather than first draining and excavating the bog. This harvesting process was specifically designed to not disrupt 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.
The act of harvesting and smoking its own barley also required collaboration with longtime partner Skagit Valley Malting, which developed the technology to achieve the desired results.
The Outpost Range, which was first introduced in August 2020, features three limited-edition expressions that are released annually — Garryana, Colere, and Solum American Single Malt Whiskeys – each one emblematic of the Seattle distiller’s core mission to push beyond the old-world conventions of single malt. Garryana celebrated its seventh edition in February with 6,900 bottles, and the second edition of Colere was released in May 2022 with 3,000 prized bottles.
Only 4,044 bottles of Westland Solum Edition 1 will be released globally for $149.99.
