Tasting notes by Serge Valentin, WhiskyFun.com 88/100

The highest score I ever came up with for a Deanston was 85 for a very old 8yo. Other than that, this distillery rather cruises along the 75-line in my book, but I never had any old ones. Now’s the time. Please note that the 43% vol. mean natural cask strength here.

Colour: pale gold.

Nose: well, this is proof that any distillery can distil some excellent whisky from time to time. In this case, it’s probably the cask that did the main part of the job because beyond the very pretty notes of dandelions and plums, there’s quite some marzipan, putty and almond oil. Also notes of ripe greengages and café latte and then more and more eucalyptus from the cask (not that it was eucalyptus wood of course). Very nice, smooth grassy oakiness.

Mouth: it’s quite punchy despite the low strength, starting on very big notes of mead or the best chouchens from Brittany (chouchen is a kind of mead but beware the stuff they make for tourists, it’s sickly sweet). Also quite some marzipan yet again, touches of white chocolate, vanilla fudge... It’s all sweet and maybe not extremely complex, but very good it is. Crystallised papayas? Absolutely no invading oak here, which is quite a miracle.

Finish: medium long, with wee touches of menthol thrown into the mix. Honeyed aftertaste.

Comments: surprisingly fresh and good! No very complex stuff (i.e. 90+ material in my book) but it’s highly drinkable. Quite a miracle, in fact.