Tasting notes

nose

bright florals, dried fruit and citrus, honey and quince jam, with a savory balsamic note

palate

tropical fruit and pear, jasmine and clove, cut grass, buttery pastry, butterscotch, demerara sugar and lime cordial

finish

peanut brittle and citrus, then cream, dried fruit and cinnamon, with a smoky oak edge

Mash bill

100% malted barley. It is Westward's standard all-malt wash, brewed with ale yeast and double distilled, then aged more than five years in American oak before the Tokaji finish. The roasted-grain character of that malt shows through the wine's sweetness.

Why it's craft

Tokaji is a sweet Hungarian wine made from botrytized grapes, and Westward sourced small 60-liter casks from the Tokaji Oremus winery that were still fragrant with it. Over 13 months the Hungarian oak added clove and butterscotch to a single malt that Westward had brewed, distilled and aged for more than five years in Portland. It was the distillery's first Tokaji cask release.