Deanston 19 Year Old 1999 Asta Morris

I admit, Deanston does not rock my boat. Especially the official releases leave me pretty cold. That might explain why this is only the 15th that I try. It’s a relatively young distillery. The former cotton factory was only converted to a distillery in 1966. And between 1982 and 1990 is was closed. For Asta Morris, it’s the second single cask. They bottled the first Deanston at age 15. This one got a few more years.

Creamy, almost fatty nose on lots of barley sugars, honey on warm toast, vanilla and some Turkish Delight. Some hay and baked pears. Fresh orchard fruit at first, but it evolves towards the dried variety. Good and without any pretense.

It remains creamy on the palate and becomes a bit spicy. Some pepper, some oak, some hay and some mint. Citrus fruit kicks in, mostly lemon. But apples and pears keep dominating.

The finish is the strongest point: long, spicy on olive oil, grass and pepper. The mouth becomes parched, but the palate tingles for a while.

Like I said, Deanston does not rock my boat. But this one is more than just okay and a lot better than most of the official releases. Around 150 EUR.

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