November 24, 2014

Tasting two 1997 Deanston

Deanston, another name that does not pull much enthusiasm, which is another reason why I do try to taste those names regularly. All distilleries are worth a good bunch of kilobytes!

Deanston 16 yo 1997/2014 (46%, Malts of Scotland, bourbon hogshead, cask #MoS 14007, 242 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: grassy, chalky and lemony. Plus a little mint. That’s pretty all, folks, but the whole is quite pure and void of any dirty/feinty notes. Only a little mashed potatoes and fresh white bread are added after ten seconds. A little lager too. Mouth: something ‘northern Highlands’, with a mineral lemon ala Clynelish and salty aspects more ala Pulteney. A style I do enjoy but it’s also a little more coherent after that, with mashy/grainy notes that are a little less interesting. However, I like this rather reserved wee baby. Pleasant body. Finish: of medium length, a little sweeter and rounder. Pink grapefruits and a touch of ginger. Comments: fine fine fine, au naturel, but a bit forgettable. Exactly a 80-malt in my book. And the price is fair at around 45€. SGP:351 - 80 points.

Deanston 1997/2013 (54.4%, Spirit of Caledonia, Mr Whisky, cask #1963)

Colour: straw. Nose: a warmer, rounder, more vanilla-ed variant of the other 1997. Otherwise there’s the same amount of grass, lemon, chalk and beer, plus a little plasticine and mead, perhaps. Not pushy at all, this baby! With water: it’s good beer at cask strength. Bread, dough, yeast, malt, maple syrup, lemon… And that works well. Mouth: same feeling, the other 1997 with more oomph, more lemon, more grass, and also more plasticine and burnt/bitter herbs, which makes it a little difficult. With water: better again, with a little more roundness - and rather more lemon at the same time. Finish: quite long, sharp, grassy, lemony. Bitterish aftertaste. Comments: a nervous beast. We all need at least one natural Deanston in our cabinet (I mean, not oak-doped), don’t we. SGP:351 - 81 points.

Bonus, this baby just in and tasted separately:

Deanston 20 yo 1994/2014 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill butt, ref #10426, 188 bottles)

Very few bottles from a 20 yo butt. Colour: gold. Nose: grassy and a little varnishy at first nosing, with also notes of green or cider apples and not-too-ripe plums. Some oak as well, new plank, visiting the wood department in a DIY store… This is not unpleasant! With water: same, plus a little marzipan. Mouth (neat): very malty. Sweet beer, jelly babies, some white pepper from the oak… Certainly good, but I’m sure there are hundreds of thousands of similar casks in Scotland. Average, not in a bad way. With water: sweeter malt, sweeter oak, that’s all. Finish: medium. Sweet oak, apples. Comments: certainly very good but a little boring IMHO. And conversely. SGP:451 - 80 points.

Check the index of all Deanston I've tasted so far