Deanston is relatively new for a distillery in Scotland, being converted from the a cotton mill that was almost two centuries old when converted to a distillery in 1966. Since that time, Deanston has created a number of blended and single malt whiskies, albeit with occasional bouts of stoppage due to diminished demand or other factors. There are 2 wash stills and 2 spirit stills, which produce a total of 3 million liters per year, offerings ranging from a core line of aged and unaged whiskies. It is also the only distillery currently in Scotland to be self-sustaining from an electrical standpoint, powered by a hydro-electric facility on site. The Deanston Virgin Oak is part of their core line up. Matured at first in ex-bourbon barrels like a majority of scotches, it is then finished for 9-12 months in fresh virgin casks from Kelvin Cooperage in Kentucky, a family operation that got their start by the River Kelvin in Glasgow, Scotland. While using virgin oak is normal for bourbon in the United States, it is very rare to see in scotch production.
Distillery: Deanston
Region: Highland
Age: NAS
Strength: 46.3%
Price: $35.99
Maturation: ex-bourbon, virgin casks
Location: Deanston
Nose: Vanilla, smoke, peat, green pepper, grass, apricot jam, heliotrope, apple blossoms
Palate: Dark chocolate, lemon grass, citrus, green peppercorn, compote pepper
Finish: Lemon basil, cumquat, oak
Comments: A very versatile and approachable dram.
Adam – Holy shades of Deerstalker 18 and Balvenie 12! Summer highland blossoms waft through a panorama of disparate threads into a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Vanilla and smoke and fruit and floral and pepper are ground beneath the mill wheel of distillation into a surprisingly coherent whole. The palate surprises again by transitioning many scents into flavors. Pepper and sweetness toy with a citrus before broad virgin oak arrives to carry us all off on a delightful voyage of scotchy-scotch. A Highland easy to recommend and even easier to enjoy.
Kate – On the nose at first, it’s this floral baby powder-esque, sweet like apple blossoms. Before the bees have worked their magic. There’s a tiny hint of wax on the back end. On the palate, I get a zingy taste on the front and it fades to sweetness then smoke and the warmth. I kind of want to liken this to a nice gentle ocean wave. The ebb and the flow and foam, then the cooler part of the wave. That’s the experience I’m getting. An ocean wave. It has a nice finish but it’s not strong. I like that it doesn’t have a lot of bite. The Virgin Oak is maybe in my top 10 summer whiskies. This feels like it should be a toffee syrup made to go over ice cream. It has the perfect sense of that for the summer; it’s toeing that line.
Henry – This has a nose like a blended scotch. There’s enough going on in the nose that you have to wonder if it’s all from the same place. The sweetness and the smoke bookend all the stuff in the middle but it’s a little discombobulated. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to getting. || A multilayered – almost cluttered – nose of honeyed sweetness, stone fruit, heather, brine, and unsmoked turf, like a picnic by the ocean, with hints of vanilla and cubeb peppercorn. Bourbon-esque sweetness characterizes the palate, with an oaky astringency coming in toward the transition to the finish, which is lemon verbena-sweet and light with prominent yet not overbearing tannin. Nothing rough in the mix – overall a pleasant, honeyed heathery dram.
Ben – I’m getting some apricot jam on the nose that reminds me of some Irish whiskies. The palate is everything you expect from oak. It has that funny spiciness to it. To me, it’s like little splinters on the tongue, which I like. The finish as a funny tanginess and it dries up a little, leaving you with a little sweetness that it promises at the beginning. This is a great calibration whisky. It reminds me of the Balvenie Doublewood that way.
Summer highland blossoms waft through a panorama of disparate threads into a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Bill – A small acridity on the nose, like minerality in a wine. Nothing here slaps you upside the face. There’s no story here that they’re trying to tell. That being said, I love this stuff.
Mike – I get more of the salt and brine on the nose, mixed with green pepper and honey.
Evelyn – It’s really easy drinking. I wouldn’t necessarily make a cocktail out of this, it’s too good for that. It’s a nice straight scotch.
Sam – Very strong vanilla on the nose, like vanilla extract. A turf, salty/sweet like Europeon forest honey. This reminds me of Nomad Whiskey.
Kim – Strong hints of green pepper and vanilla. Would be delicious with a dark chocolate and a salted carmel.
