Charting New Territory In Single Malt Whiskey

In the Fall of 2009, we were asked to partner with an upstart whiskey distillery, what would become Westland Distillery. In those initial boom years of craft distilling, most new distilleries chose to produce a wide range of spirits and hedged their bets on the commonality of being proudly just that—craft. 

We charted our own course. 

Westland set out to make a single, highly definitive spirit and do it at a scale and quality that was world class. In the process we managed to pioneer an entirely new category in spirits, American Single Malt Whiskey. It continues to gain momentum and go head-to-head with the titans of single malt, the Scotch whisky industry. 

We knew from the beginning that the brand we were going to make needed to match the scale of the endeavor. It had to be able to present with authority, be distinctive in category and on shelf, and be the creative springboard for ambitious programmatic releases and dynamic content. 

Rejecting the traditional visual tropes of old-world Scotch and the familiar aesthetics of American bourbon, we instead set out to create a brand with an iconic foundation rooted in the the aesthetic of hands-on American craftsmanship from the early 20th century and the industrialization of the American West.

Westland was purchased in 2016 by Remy Cointreau and we guided the brand through its transition in ownership and expanded upon its narrative for a new global audience. We continue to partner with them in their pursuit of the exploration of Pacific Northwest provenance in single malt whiskey.

The Wall Of The World Is A Door To Opportunity

At the core of the Westland brand is the idea of exploration. Counter to scotch whiskey which has been made with the same grains and methods for hundreds of years, Westland explores rare or forgotten barley strains and ages its whiskey in a variety of oak casks. Deliberately challenging the traditions of scotch, Westland sees whiskey as its own frontier and sets out to not only explore the potential of single malt, but to chart its progress and leave a detailed record for others to follow.

We embed this idea into the visual language through the use of topographic maps from the early 20th century. By contextualizing the brand at the rugged edges of the Pacific Northwest, we create a direct connection between the ethos of the brand and world it inhabits.