For centuries, Scotland set the standards in single malt whiskey; but in recent years, new voices have emerged to challenge the sanctity of tradition. According to a new survey by Westland Distillery, Scotland no longer holds the keys — at least as far as the masses are concerned.

Starting in October 2021, according to a news release, Westland sought to assess how their single malts, and those from around the world, measure up against each other and against the original forefather,by launching The Judgement of Westland, a series of blind tastings held around the world featuring the same four single malts from four distinct global regions.

The Judgement concluded on Thursday, February 3, 2022, with its final blind tasting, and the results speak for themselves: Scotland no longer “owns” single malt. The campaign has demonstrated a simple truth that today, all fine single malts, regardless of where their distilleries sit on a map, deserve to be equally considered.

Inspired by the wine world’s famed Judgement of Paris, a blind tasting hosted in 1976 by a British wine merchant that pitted New World wineries of California against the vaunted Bordeaux Chateaux of France, the Judgement of Westland blind tasting events engaged almost nearly 2,000 whiskey enthusiasts, connoisseurs, and media.

Attendees contributed their assessments digitally via QR codes at each tasting using a five-star rating system. The U.S. and Australia both achieved 3.4, Scotland secured 3.3, and India rated 3.1. The negligible difference in rating proves the point: The new voices of single malt whiskey are standing tall in quality with Old World single malt from Scotland, per Westland’s announcement.  

“More than 10 years ago, we set out with the firm belief that we could make compelling single malt here in Seattle,” says Matt Hofmann, Co-Founder of Westland Distillery. “We had a belief that this place, one of the best barley-growing climates in the world, would stand toe-to-toe with the famous whiskies of Scotland, even though our approach was different.

“I will never forget the first high scores coming in from the pundits, the relief that this made me feel. Now, for the first time in a structured way, we could do this with nearly 2,000 whiskey fans in multiple countries and could demonstrate that single malt from around the world has something to add to the greats from Scotland. What an incredible moment. The future is as bright as ever for Westland and the world of single malt whiskey.”

To create the Judgement of Westland project, respected whiskey luminaries Dave Broom and Sam Simmons independently selected the featured single malts – which were not revealed to any participants – and designed the scoring system.

Their selections shared a common criteria: they were all widely commercially available, were listed at similar price points, and none were cask strength or single cask bottlings. Broom and Simmons specifically designed the scoring system so that the whiskeys were rated out of five stars and not to be ranked in order but rather graded individually on their own merits.

While the blind-tasters shared their opinions via the ratings, many also had a little more to say (anonymously):

• “You’ve destroyed my illusions!”
• “American Single Malt seems to be surging.”
• “This definitely opened my eyes.”
• “The U.S. is in the game! That’s everything.”
• “Four different profiles, all delicious.”
• “I guess I’m a big fan of Westland.”

 For more information on the campaign, visit www.thejudgementofwestland.com.