Charting A New Oak For Whiskey

In Westland’s ongoing exploration of Pacific Northwest provenance, we’ve been extremely fortunate to work with a species of oak whose only natural habitat is in our backyard. Quercus garryana is a new species of oak to the world of whiskey, uniquely expressing the essence of the Pacific Northwest. Since our earliest years, we have diligently explored this rare species’ impact on flavor with great success and revealed its promise on the world stage of whiskey.

Due to human development, Garry Oak grows in only five percent of its former habitat. It is already a hyper-local species, growing only in the lowlands between southern British Columbia and the northern borders of California. Because of this oak’s relative scarcity, no system has been built for its commercial use. As a result, Westland has had to create the infrastructure for supply from the ground up. Working closely with forestry experts, mills, and coopers, we’ve been able to establish a sustainable supply chain for Garry Oak and begin to understand its vast potential for whiskey.

The Challenges of Garryana

There are many challenges to working with the wood from trees that are essentially totally wild. Different from the oak claimed from managed forests for generations, Garry Oak has not been groomed for perfection regarding the manufacture of casks. The wood is brittle, twisted, and prone to checking, and the wild trees have a relatively low yield of usable stock for staves. What we have to work with one year is altogether different from the next. Still, the effort is worth the result; these challenges make Garryana so interesting to explore and distinct from the oak used in traditional casks. 

Restoration & Stewardship

With only 3-5% of Garry Oak’s natural habitat remaining, Westland’s goal is to be part of the solution, not the problem. Dedicated to a program of ethical sourcing and active stewardship, we work to restore as much of this keystone species’ habitat as possible in an effort to perpetuate the species and keep the ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest healthy.

Regional Flavor Celebrated Worldwide

Our reverence and respect for this oak are revealed through our Garryana American Single Malt Whiskey. As a part of the Westland Outpost Range, Garryana has consistently been one of Westland’s most acclaimed whiskeys, with its annual release being highly anticipated and saught after. In 2023, Garryana Edition 8 was named #3 in the Top 20 Most Exciting Whiskies of the Year by Whiskey Advocate.

Like the trees, these whiskeys are rare and released in limited quantities. Sign up here for updates and news about future releases of Westland Garryana.