Deanston has been a distillery since 1966, though the site was a major cotton mill for almost 200 hundred years before that. Sourcing water from the River Teith, it is the only current distillery in Scotland to be entirely powered by hydro-electricity. Deanston is currently owned by Distell Group Limited, which also owns the Tobermory and Bunnahabhain distilleries. Its first single malt was named Old Bannockburn but the core range is now made up of the Deanston 12 and a No Age Statement offering, though they experiment with more limited or distillery-only editions.
Distillery: Deanston
Region: Highland
Age: 12 years
Strength: 46.3%
Price: $49.99
Location: Doune
Nose: Peach, pear, woody, caramel, sour mash
Palate: Sweet, moss, toffee
Finish: Sour, pear
Comments: While fine as is, a few drops of water can help calm the rougher edges.
Adam – The Deanston 12 is what I would consider a quintessential Highland malt. It has the oak and grain mixed with a slightly dull toffee sweetness, coupled with some potential flowers amidst a little salt. But all of these are pretty dialed back so that everything gets a little fuzzy and out of focus. This is pleasant and accessible and, at the above price point, very well worth it to have in your home collection. It calls to mind descriptors like solid and respectable and inoffensive. Which is fine, unless you want your whisky to be bold and searing. If you want to explore the lochs and rolling hills of the central highlands, about as far from the coast as you can get, then this is a good companion to have with you.
Energetic and effervescent and tangy.
Jenny – It’s a little lighter on the nose. I think if it was warmer outside it would have a better character.
Meghan – It smells a little chlorinated to me, which was an unusual experience. It may have been the sour mash smell mutating in my sinuses. I also picked up scents of tree sap, moss, and clover. The Deanston is a very spring smelling whisky. I would like to be able to describe which fruits appear on the palate but frankly, it tastes like Juicy Fruit gum. In theory, that gum is fruit flavored though I have no idea which fruits they are supposed to be. The Deanston 12 shares that mysterious fruit basket. Maybe it is snozzberry? This is definitely a warm weather whisky as it is sweet, sour, and bright. It has a short, dry finish with more hints of sour mash. It has been a long time since I drank Jack Daniels but I think Jack and Deanston share a family tree, in terms of flavor. I found this one oddly hot but discovered that even a drop of water caused the whisky to lose what little nuance it possesses. Water makes it sweeter, but this isn’t one that benefits from more sweetness. I wanted to really enjoy this one but it just doesn’t do it for me. If this was a no age statement whisky I would say that it needs more age. But, it’s already a 12-year so I don’t know that longer maturation would have the needed effect. It is definitely smooth and fairly well balanced. I think it is simply that it’s flavor is something I don’t much like. I never did trust Willy Wonka, let alone his snozzberry wallpaper.
Michael – It still reminds me of ciders and makes me think of fall. Where I grew up, they would be two seasons of ciders. They’d start with the sour ciders before transitioning to sweeter ones, and the Deanston 12 reminds me of the more sour ones. Really reminds me of fall.
Peter – Energetic and effervescent and tangy. The finish is very dry, and it gets drier and drier and almost sour. It lingers, it stays with you. If I needed something to put on ice cream, at least a scotch, this one might work well.
Caitlin – It’s fine. I’ll drink it. I’ll have a second, but it is sort of “meh” for me. It smelled fine but I didn’t want to smell it for an hour like some others we’ve had.
Ben – Everything in this is good but it’s far away. If I work at it I can find the smell and taste. It’s there but you have to work at it. It’s got that old man candy taste. The Deanston 12 is like a Werther’s, and it makes you want to have another one, not because it’s superb, but because it’s nice enough.
Henry – This is a romance novel. It has to do with sun-bleached hair. There’s such a balance between the citrus, the grain and the light florals. There’s a little bit of smokiness on the palate that I like. There’s a peaty sentiment to it but without the smoke at the very end. There’s a summery, inviting element to the nose but it opens up to warm hay and it carries the fruitiness throughout. You get a hint of the peat on the palate that carries through to the end. It’s the most homesick I can get from the peat, light but distance. No roast or char, just the smell of turf fire from the chimney in the distance. Odd as it is, it calls to mind the west coast of Ireland for some reason, psychologically more than anything. It’s romantic. Like the Princess Bride. Princess Buttercup, just slightly naughtier.
