Review #147 - Deanston 12 Year
A favorite distillery of many whisky enthusiasts, this is Deanston, from the southern Highlands, just a little while north of Edinburgh and Glasgow. We're looking at their standard 12 Year release - possibly not their entry level malt, considering the existence of the Virgin Oak release. This is bottled at 46.3% ABV and isn't chill filtered, so we're getting nice specs from Distell, the distillery's owners.
The label states that this is aged in ex-bourbon barrels, although, as we'll discuss in our tasting notes below, we found a very balanced character, almost hinting at some sherry casks. Maybe that's some savory, solid character in their distillate coming through instead? A little bit of a head scratcher for us, but this was our first Deanston bottle, so we still have plenty to learn about them.
Deanston 12 Year
Scotland/Highlands - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 65 (2021)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 69 (2023)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 46.3% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon casks
Details: Not chill filtered
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 2 years; bottles at 100%, 80%, 40% (blind tasting), and 30% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: A bit of spirit character, but also some stronger first-fill cask influence: baked goods, butterscotch, vanilla, and some slightly bitter, old oak. There's fruit as well: green and red apples, orange, almost fig like some sherry influence, some sharper notes from lemon and nectarine. In the oak, we find a nuttiness and spice, even peppercorns and leather; overall, this is pretty balanced, not straying too far in any one flavor direction.
Palate: Ex-bourbon orchard fruits and baking spices: orange, green apple and cinnamon which combine for a crisp apple pie, white pepper, plenty of vanilla, nutmeg; there's dry oak again, some burnt sugar, brown sugar, and even licorice. Mouthfeel is medium, and again, just a hint of spirit character lingering, but not too strong.
Finish: Medium length or so, with those same baking spices dominating: vanilla is the strongest, but we also get anise and simple syrup along with more apples. The finish is more dry than the palate - a hint of sharp oak and dry hay are here, and we end with a grapefruit aftertaste.
Final Note: For us, this is solid, but nothing about it really sticks out to make it interesting. We had slightly higher expectations based on what we read online in the whisky community, but when we taste it, it's just... fine? A few nice flavor notes, but the overall experience is a little too rounded and flat. In more recent times, we've had the opportunity to taste other, more individualistic Deanston offerings (Deanston 20 Year Oloroso and Deanston 2008 PX, for example), and we've seen how much character they can have; spoiler alert: it's a lot. This one just doesn't quite do the same thing for us. Maybe just a lackluster batch? Hard to say.
Our Average Rating: 6.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.37
