I really appreciate the thought that is going into a lot of the whiskey Zoom calls I’ve been having lately. We’d all love to be at dinner together discussing the latest release, but since we can’t be together in person it’s great to get together over zoom. It’s just a nice break to see familiar faces from outside of my pandemic pod. I attended a virtual cocktail class last week, and this week it was arts and crafts time with Westward Whiskey.

On November 15, 2020 Westward will nationally release their Pinot Noir finished whiskey, which was previously only available in the area local to the distillery in Portland, Oregon. The Pinot barrels come from wineries in the area, which is known for great Pinot Noir.

To mark the occasion and because of a general plan to freshen up Westward’s outward appearance, they decided to update the bottle and label designs along with this new nationwide release.

The bottles have changed from a basic shape to a unique one reminiscent of the mountains that surround Portland.

And since we couldn’t check out the new bottle and meet up in person, Westward decided to have a whiskey and crafting hour to celebrate and discuss.

Together with CraftJam we learned how to etch glass, which was actually a lot easier than I realized. We mixed up some virtual cocktails at the direction of co-founder Christian Krogstad and then got to work etching our Glencairn glasses.

One of the pre-cut templates was a bird, so I went with that. When I was finished I was reminded of a joke from the television show Portlandia – I put a bird on it and called it art! This also reminded me of talking about this show with Krogstad when I visited Westward earlier this year and his telling me that it was so accurate it really wasn’t that funny because it’s only a slight exaggeration.

Westward was my last trip in “the before time” and I really like what they are doing out there. They are serious about making some really great whiskey, and they incorporate the spirit of Portland in everything they do. If you ever get a chance to try Westward Whiskey, give it a shot. Depending on where you are, you can even order it straight from them here.

Photos Courtesy of Maggie Kimberl