The American West has captured the imagination of America ever since Thomas Jefferson, for then, 15 million dollars, purchased a large swath of it from France. A region rich with potential. A place where you can go and reinvent yourself and your product. The American West is not just the home of the Western genre. No, dear reader, the American West is the beating heart of the American Mythos; the ideas of ‘Be Your Own Man’ and ‘Cut a new tradition’ are the hallmarks of all places west of the Mississippi. Thus, we have today’s film West of Tradition, which explores the pioneers of the American Single Malt whiskey.
Scotch, this is not, dear reader. Scotch is a term strictly reserved for whiskey distilled and aged in Scotland. Anywhere else – The United States, Japan, Ireland – it’s legally whiskey. West of Tradition’s mission is to show us, the spectator, the people who are forging new and fascinating methods of creating single malt whiskey all across the American West. The biggest brand by far of these trailblazers is Westland Distillery. Located in Washington, near Seattle, Westland takes advantage of the ample peat found in the bogs of Washington state. Every year they distribute a specialty brand called ‘Peat Week,’ which is by far and away the whiskey with the strongest peat content found in the terroir of Washington. Terroir is the quality of soil used to make alcohol, dear reader.
Featuring interviews with Master distillers Matt Hofmann, Caitlin Bartlemay, Sarah Aday, Stephen Paul, Phoebe Dawson, Justin Aden and many others, West of Tradition really demonstrates a series of unique voices none of us would have been aware of. Scotch and Whiskey are traditional potables. These American distillers are doing their best to originate a wholly distinct set of traditions from what anyone has experienced before.
“Every year they distribute a specialty brand called ‘Peat Week’ which is by far and away the whiskey with the strongest content of peat found in the terroir of Washington.”
West of Tradition introduces us to distillers in Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona. Stephen Paul of Del Bac in Arizona relates the tale of how his wife contemplated what if someone were to roast barley over mesquite rather than traditional oak or other woods. In exploring that question, they created an especially smoky flavor of Whiskey carried under the Del Bac brand. Dear Reader, West of Tradition has definitely opened my eyes to a whole bunch of Whiskey brands I would personally like to sample, and hopefully it will do the same for you.
One of the more important sequences in West of Tradition is the discussion of the formation of the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission. Formed in 2016, the commission provided the distillers access to create a uniquely American set of rules and customs. It further enabled them to be rubber-stamped by the Federal government to set basic regulations so it may be sold on the open market. Guardrails are important for any industry. For a method of brewing alcohol that requires 2 – 21 years, it’s good to have rules. After all, Iowa, Oregon, Arizona, and Washington state are all very distinct biomes. These are all terrains that are diverse from each other. One of the examples of regional uniqueness is Westland’s Garryana brand of whiskey. Distilled from barley roasted with Garryana wood – a tree unique to Washington – Garryana trees are going extinct. Westland assures us they are doing everything they can to maintain this species of tree, and only harvest trees that have naturally fallen.
West of Tradition demonstrates the uncompromising, trail-blazing, and original spirit of America. This is the American dream writ large across a form of alcohol that was uniquely Scottish. West of Tradition is a great documentary, and I encourage you to witness it, dear reader.
"…demonstrates the uncompromising, trail blazing, and original spirit of America"
