Review by: dustbunna
Deanston is enjoying a moment in the limelight right now, and gets recommended a fair bit online especially for their value 12yr entry-level and the love-it-or-hate-it dirt-cheap Virgin Oak. The old 18yr came in two versions, each matured for part of its life in refill ex-bourbon American oak, then transferred to one of two casks (Cognac or first-fill ex-bourbon) for a second maturation. With this new label and bottle design, I can’t tell if they stuck with the refill/first-fill ex-bourbon (which is what I have read online) or if they did away with that, maturing this stock exclusively in first-fill ex-bourbon American oak (which is what the bottle suggests, though it only says ‘aged’ rather than ‘aged exclusively.’) It has the usual craft Distell presentation of 46.3% and non-chill-filtered, with the added cheekiness of an ingredients list on the side (water, malted barley, yeast.) Oddly for Deanston it does not explicitly state natural color, however they do say on their site that no colorant is added to any of their whisky.
Distillery: Deanston.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Highlands.
ABV: 46.3%.
Age: 18 years. Bottled in 2019.
Cask type: First-fill ex-bourbon casks.
Price: $91 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 4 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: shy at first, eventually landing on super-ripe pineapple, cola, hints of bubblegum and orange oil, water brings out lemon oil and barley sugar, star anise.
Palate: full-bodied and oily ~ ripe/overripe tropical fruit, a little white pepper, brine, lots of floral notes in the background, cut grass, something plastic-like in the background, cut stems.
Finish: medium length ~ sourdough starter, a bit of green wood, rich sweet malt that lingers for some time, floral bitterness and a bit of mustiness.
Conclusion: I feel that I can draw a straight line from what the 12yr gives me to this one, which is a somewhat deeper and richer space to explore. It’s the ‘somewhat’ that gives me pause: the truth is that this is quite good whisky, the bready notes turn into more tropical fruit, with a balance of nice floral and citrus undertones, but I guess I wanted more out of it somehow. There’s nothing wrong here, but a lot of overlap with good experiences I’ve found in reasonably priced ex-bourbon IBs from other distilleries– Dailuaine comes to mind for the floral notes in particular.
It’s a fair guess that in the US this would be pushed over $100 on the shelf, and at that price it has the same problem competing with its younger sibling (as I feel Bunnahabhain’s 18yr does with the 12yr)– it’s not that it offers no value or interest over the younger bottle, but for me there’s not quite enough daylight between them. It also requires lots of attention… even with all the robust fruit, I find that this dram can easily be overwhelmed in a flight. I’m glad I had it as it is lovely to sip, but I think instead of replacing it I would probably buy another bottle of the 12yr.
Final Score: 80.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 