Westward Toasts its 20th Anniversary With A New Edition of Milestone, Its Solera-Aged Whiskey
October 9, 2024 –––––– David Fleming
A solera is a system for aging wine used for the gradual blending of younger wines into older ones. Rows of barrels are stacked atop each other, sometimes in a pyramid shape, with the youngest wines at the top and the oldest at the bottom. The younger wines are added to the older barrels in a perpetual aging cycle. The solera system is a distinguishing feature of sherry production in Spain and is also used for port and madeira. But the system has also been borrowed by other vintners, as well as brewers and distillers, including some whisky makers.
One such whiskey distiller is Portland, Oregon-based Westward Whiskey. Back in 2021, Westward built a solera system at the distillery. Its pyramid is comprised of 21 wine barrels from Oregon’s Willamette Valley and elsewhere in the global vineyard. The Westward solera system was used to create Milestone, a limited annual release that was to be Westward’s top-of-the-line whiskey expression using its oldest liquid.
The inaugural release, Milestone Edition No. 1 American single malt, appeared last November, and now comes the new Milestone Edition No. 2-A Discovery of Spice. This one is said to take its inspiration from a visit to Thailand by master blender Miles Munro, where he sampled and paired the country’s street foods with whiskey. From there Munro set out on a mission to hone in on the spice notes for this latest Milestone edition. Using the solera method, Munro was able to work with some of Westward’s oldest whiskeys, along with the distillery's various wood and wine finishes.
Priced at $250 and bottled at 48.5% ABV, Milestone Edition No. 2-A Discovery of Spice was released on October 1st and is available in limited quantities on Westward Whiskey's website.
