Reviewed by @markjedi1

0 183/100

Since Burn Stewart Distillers took over the brand Deanston in 2009 – together with Tobermory, Ledaig and Bunnahabhain – it is bottled at 46,3% ABV and not chill filtered. The new (well) version of Deanston 12 Year Old hence proudly sports the term Un-Chill Filtered on the label.

The nose is sweet and shows both bourbon and sherry cask traits, so I suppose both types of casks were used (no sh*t, Sherlock). Very sweet on caramel and vanilla on the one hand, loads of orange peel, grapefruit, dried apricots and a marmalade of peach on the other. Some almonds, honey and sunflower oil. Very pleasant and inviting.

The body is quite fine, even somewhat creamy. Sweet and sour on pomelo, Seville oranges, dades and a hint of dark chocolate. Loads of woodspice, making it somewhat piquant. Midpalate it turns a touch bitter as if from grapefruit, but never over the top. This is quite good, in fact.

The finish is a tad longer than anticipated, on oranges and pepper.

Fine whisky, very quaffable, without being a card players’ dram. Much better than the old version, no doubt about it. Around 45 EUR, which seems very fair indeed.

@DutchGaelisch commented:

@markjedi1 Thanks for the review. My favorite everyday dram and great value for money. Regular pricing in the Netherlands is € 35,- a bottle. I've stocked up on this one, the new packaging (I liked the old packaging better) is coming soon to the Netherlands, I hope the liquid and price stays the same.

Comment on @markjedi1's review

Reviewed by @DutchGaelisch

0 589/100

I hessitated te write this review, the first bottle I bought for € 30,- was absolutely wonderfull, it didn't last a week. Was it a lucky shot from Deanston? Maybe? Afterall we know all about batch differences. So I bought another bottle, again wondefull stuff. Then I looked at the (not so good) reviews on Connosr, are we talking about the same bottle? It can't be? I'm I nuts? Ore is this bottle just hitting my sweet spot? I prefer to go for the last option!

What is it like? Deanston, 12 year old, 46.3%, non chill-filtering, no colouring. So far all good stuff!

The flavors are bright with notes of citrus, barly, lemongrass, honey, vanilla. The finish is easy-going and lingering due to the higher ABV. It reminds me vagely of The Glenlivet Nadurra, both bottles are 100% Bourbon Barrels and a high ABV. For € 30,- a bottle an absolute winner and a wonderfull everyday dram. Deanston keep up the good work!

@Jules commented:

@ DutchG, well the problem is that most original bottlings tend not to go higher than 43% on their younger expressions, and most are also chillfiltred. I'd say your best bet for interesting Bourbon-only expressions is to find a good seller that stocks independant bottlings. If you are in NL (your name suggests you might be:-) then look for bottles from 'The Whisky Agency', 'The Nectar' and 'The Ultimate' (all EU bottlers and all sold in NL) - these will usually state what kind of cask was used to mature and are a good way of finding interesting Bourbon matured scotches that would otherwise not be released by the distilleries.

@Jules commented:

Yep I see where you are coming from, it's one of those that often gets a bad rap but I also find this one very good for the price - there aren't many similar style young Bourbon-matured Scotches that are sold at such a decent ABV% and unchillfiltered.

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Reviewed by @hunggar

0 276/100

This is a bottle that I’ve been putting off reviewing for ages. I bought it a long time ago and sort of forgot about it at the back of my cabinet. Well it’s resurfaced now, having been open for a good six months or so. Deanston is one of those smaller, lesser known distilleries that doesn’t get a lot of fuss. Of course, this is usually the part where I say it deserves more attention and respect…

Nose: A pointy citrus note, ginger, grass, granny smith apples, seared honey, a bit of malt, and herbs. Most noticeably there’s the scent of cologne. Old Spice-ish.

Palate: A light mouthfeel with some prickly spices over citrus. There’s also a somewhat flat honey note, cough drops, and ginger. Again, a strong cologne note.

Finish: Cologne, grapefruit, ginger, flat honey, hints of smoke, butter, curdled milk, anise, and some grassiness. Medium in length.

It’s very blunt and masculine, from the label to the cologne flavour. Was this matured in Old Spice casks? Also, the honey here falls flat. It’s all a bit off-putting, honestly. I can see that there’s an effort to make this “craft,” but the flavours just don’t work for me. It’s unique, and perhaps there’s a rugged charm to this, but it’s just not a style that I can get behind.