One of the reasons whiskey is such an amazing spirit is that it pairs with everything from oysters to cheese and even chocolate cake. And it pairs perfectly with s’mores. I recently hosted a whiskey and s’mores pairing party with Westland Whiskey for Women Who Whiskey Chicago and I couldn’t help but share all the lovely details.

Women Who Whiskey is an international whiskey club for amateurs and connoisseurs, with chapters in dozens of cities. The club’s goal is to remove the stigma that women don’t drink whiskey while hosting events to learn about the spirit and meet like-minded drinkers. It’s free to be a member (sign up here!) but most events require tickets.

As President of Women Who Whiskey’s Chicago Chapter, I worked with Westland Whiskey’s local brand ambassador, Cherish, for the whiskey and s’mores pairing party. She deserves all the creative credit for this event since all of the ideas and picture-perfect execution was all her. (Thanks, Cherish!)

Whiskey and S’mores Pairing Party with Westland Whiskey

First :: Why Whiskey Pairs with S’mores

S’mores are the genius combination of roasted marshmallows topped with chocolate on graham crackers. (Fun fact: the Girls Scouts invented the summer treat almost a century ago.) Whiskey makes an excellent pairing for sweets, especially chocolate. Whiskey and chocolate share a lot of similar flavors and the graham and sweet marshmallow bring out even more nuances of whiskey, especially Westland. (More on the specific flavors of Westland below.)

Westland Whiskey is American Single Malt Whiskey

Single malt is usually synonymous with Scotland but it’s made around the world, including in the United States. Westland Distillery is one of the distilleries making American single malt whiskey, right in Seattle. It opened in 2010 making whiskey with locally grown barley and local peat, aged in barrels made from local wood.

Westland is on the forefront of American single malt whiskey, even helping establish the American Single Malt Commission that regulates and protects the category. Their guidelines insist American single malt be made from 100% malted barley, distilled entirely at one distillery in the U.S., and matured in oak casks not exceeding 700 liters.

Needless to say, any mention of the American single malt category gives a nod to Westland Distillery. And with good reason: Westland is a deliciously excellent example of just how good American single malt can be.

Westland Whiskey

Westland has three core expressions — American Oak, Peated, and Sherry Wood — plus some special releases, like Garryana. Garryana is aged in rare Oregon oak (Quercus Garryana) that’s heavily restricted to cut down, forcing Westland to actually wait for it to fall down in some cases, just to make a cask with it. (If you ever have a chance to try it, definitely don’t pass it up!)

The American Oak is their core expression, aged in American oak. It has coffee, chocolate, vanilla custard and peppery notes on the nose, with a caramel, chocolate custard palate with hints of of jasmine and cherries. The finish is peppery with a touch of pear.

Peated American single malt is rare, but leave it to Westland to pull it off. Westland’s Peated is has a nutty nose with flamed orange peel and smoky peat. The palate is smoky malt and leafy mint, with campfire notes, iodine, and roasted pistachios; finishing with green herbs and ground pepper.

Westland’s Sherry Wood is aged in ex-Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez casks, giving it a nose of honey-dipped oatmeal raisin cookies, milk chocolate and fresh malt. The palate is full of raisin and maple syrup notes followed by sweet pastries, ending with a fruity finish with hints of vanilla and malt.

Can you see why Westland whiskey and s’mores pair so perfectly together?

Whiskey and S’mores Pairing Party

Cherish set up roasting stations with everything needed to make s’mores. We sipped on Westland’s three core expressions neat, plus whiskey cocktails. Here’s what we used for the perfect whiskey and s’mores pairing party.

For the Fire

The best part about s’mores is roasting the marshmallows over the fire. For our party, held inside, we used mini habachi grills with real flames. They are only $7/each and use gel fuel. It worked perfectly!

For the Marshmallows

While regular store-bought marshmallows work just fine, Cherish made her own whiskey-infused peated marshmallows. She made one batch with Westland Peated and another with Peat Week, Westland’s heavily peated special release. (Here in Chicago, several boozy marshmallow companies make similar ready-to-buy versions.)

For the Chocolate

Instead of just having the standard Hershey’s Chocolate for s’mores, we had a variety of chocolate: semi-dark, spicy chocolate, and 85% cacao. Between the different chocolates and peated/heavily peated marshmallows, everyone could customize their s’mores to their own taste.

For the Whiskey & Cocktails

We tasted the whiskey by itself using Glencairn glasses, then used fun mugs for the cocktails. The hard part was debating which of the three Westland expressions paired best with the s’mores! Then we ended the night with Cherish’s iced, boozy version of Hot Chocolate and iced coffee cocktails.

Westland Whiskey + Women Who Whiskey

Westland whiskey is the perfect whiskey to pair with s’mores. S’mores and single malt have so many of the same flavor profiles that it works perfectly. And Westland is American, which is sort of required when making an American treat like s’mores, right? :)

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Are you in the Chicago area and want to join us next time we do an event like this? Sign up to receive Women Who Whiskey Chicago event emails and follow us on instagram and facebook. (Note: some events include men so guys can sign up for our email list too!)

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