Review #764 - Westward Cabernet Finished Single Barrel Selection - r/bourbon Pick
Westward distillery matures or finishes their whisky in a wide variety of different cask types, but they're especially known for wine casks such as Pinot Noir due to their connection with the Pacific Northwest, where high quality wines of this variety are produced. Another wine cask they use is Cabernet - here's a single barrel selection for r/bourbon as one example.
The single malt spirit in this bottle first spent about 5 years maturing in a more standard new American oak cask before a 2 year finish in a Cabernet wine cask was utilized. After those 7 years of aging, this was bottled at a cask strength of 64.88% ABV (129.76 proof) - that makes this one of the punchiest American single malts that we've tried.
Westward Cabernet Finished Single Barrel Selection - r/bourbon Pick
USA - Single Malt
Price: USD 110 (2026)
Age Statement: 7 Years
Strength: 64.88% ABV
Cask Makeup: New American oak, finished in a Cabernet wine cask
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 6 months from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Lots of malty chocolate, along with sweet scents of cherry, caramel, and chocolate-covered raisin. Syrupy prunes are balanced by cinnamon, tannins, and peppery oak; it's a bit spirity, and we get hints of wood char and rose petals as well.
Palate: The mouthfeel is thick, and this single malt brings punchy flavors: lots of malty grain, wood char, lots of oak spice and strong jammy red fruits. Burgundy wine, strawberry, and raspberry syrup are accented by chocolate sauce, hints of peanut butter and caramel. It grows slightly more tart later.
Finish: The flavors are still intense; a nice mixture of fruits and baking notes. Raspberry, vanilla, strawberry, chocolate syrup, nectarine, cinnamon, and a bit of coffee, too. Tannins build over time - a nice oak spice for the age - it's a bit spicy overall, and this finish is quite long.
Final Note: This is a great American single malt - tons of strong flavors with a bit of heat, a nice combination of sweetness and spice, lots of fruit and baking flavors. Because it's quite hot and not too old, it isn't the most refined experience in the world, and not the most complex, but there is good flavor development here. Those who like that malty, chocolatey, fruity style that you often find with high-quality American single malts will like this bottle a lot.
Value is pretty good, and by far the best so far among our Westward reviews. This distillery is known for charging a relatively high price for essentially all of their bottles; even their 'entry level' expressions are close to $100, at least in our area. A bottle with specs like this would be our strongest recommendation so far from Westward.
Our Rating: 8.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.68
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Westward reviews:
