Review by: The Muskox

This bottling from Deanston is a collaboration with the New Holland brewery in Michigan. I have a strangely boring taste in beer – I’ll much more readily drink a wheat beer or lager than an IPA, and I really don’t like the interesting beers like sours or stouts or porters. I’ve also had a bit of a bad run with Deanstons recently. All that might add up to a poor experience with this whisky… Though, I did like Glenfiddich’s experiment with beer barrel maturation, so maybe this will surprise me.

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Distillery: Deanston.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 50.5%, cask strength.

Age: 7 years old. Distilled in 2012. Bottled in 2019.

Cask type: Stout Cask Finished.

Color: Light gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Hah, it does smell a bit like stout. It’s got that very dark coffee-ish malty note. It’s definitely a scotch though, and a Deanston too – there’s fresh-picked apples, sweet lemon tea, light brown sugar, and a hint of black pepper. Powdered sugar dusted donuts. Slightly grassy-green.

Palate: Medium texture. Bittersweet and a little tart on the arrival. Green apples, lemon zest, tart peach, and cut grass. The development brings meltier more stout-ish notes – toasted bread and dark chocolate smores. Long developments rounds off into bitterness: charred wood, black coffee, even slightly hoppy.

Finish: Bittersweet, rather stout-ish, with a lingering toasty and hoppy note. Apple fritters dusted with cinnamon sugar. Ginger, coffee, and a hint of barrel char. Pickled lemons.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Wet leprechaun’s funnel cake stand”

Notes: That… kind of works! There’s quite a lot of stout flavour in there, while retaining a lot of lemony Deanston character. It’s a young whisky, and that abundant youthful tartness combines with the cask for a rather dry and bitter whisky. Not something I’d personally really reach for frequently, but tasty regardless. I’d recommend this if you’re a fan of either Deanston or stouts. I wouldn’t count myself a fan of either, and I still liked this. Kudos to Deanston for successfully wrangling this weird cask.

Final Score: 80.

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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.