9 Years Old | 51.5% Alc/Vol | 2nd Fill Oloroso Hogshead | Seattle, Washington

Six days short of ten years old. This Westland American Single Malt from Seattle spent more than seven of those years in a 2nd fill ex-Oloroso Sherry hogshead, and it shows in the best possible way. Cherry cordials, browned butter, and red roses on the nose. Blood orange and cashew on the palate. Add a little water and everything gets coated in silky milk chocolate. Westland already makes exceptional whiskey. This cask takes it somewhere special.

7 Years Old | 64.7% Alc/Vol | Bergstrom Pinot Noir French Oak Barrique | Portland, Oregon

Another Westward cask, and a very different one from #0008. This seven-year-old American Single Malt spent more than four of its years in a Bergstrom Winery Pinot Noir French oak barrique. If you know Bergstrom's wine, you know what that barrel brings: dark fruit, depth, and French oak with real character. Blackberry compote, dark chocolate, beeswax, and fig. Add a little water and a pop of grenadine comes through and lingers right alongside everything else for a long, long time. At 64.7%, it has the most power in the release. Handle accordingly.

7 Years Old | 62.4% Alc/Vol | New American Oak Alligator Char | Gig Harbor, Washington

Heritage Distilling out of Gig Harbor, Washington does not get talked about enough. This four grain bourbon with a mash bill of 55% corn, 25% wheat, 15% rye, and 5% malted barley, has been sitting in a new American oak alligator char barrel for seven years and the result is exactly what a great American bourbon should taste like. S'mores, oatmeal raisin cookies, rye spice, and just a hint of cherry cough syrup, which sounds odd and somehow works perfectly. The finish is lip-smacking and long enough that you will reach for another pour before it is done.

7 Years Old | 62.3% Alc/Vol | New American Oak Alligator Char | 10% Chocolate Malt / 90% Barley | Gig Harbor, Washington

Chocolate malted barley is normally a brewing ingredient, used in stouts and porters. Heritage Distilling took 10% of it and built a whiskey mash bill around it, and the result is the kind of thing that makes you stop and think for a minute. Dark chocolate comes first, more complex than a straight sweet chocolate, with fresh orange and apricot and a note of fried sage running underneath. Add a few drops of water and a mango sweetness appears. This is the second barrel of this style we have bottled, and this one leans darker and more complex than the first.