Deanston 20yo

When you explore a new distillery, do you start at the bottom and work your way up to the top, or do you skip the boring part and jump right in where the action is? Well I don’t have a preference, my preference usually goes out to the obscure, the interesting and preferably the good. But from time to time I do try out the official bottlings to delve into a distillery’s capabilities. Today I am going to start at the top, where the good reviews are: Deanston, roll out your big guns with the 20yo!

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Description: matured in Oloroso casks for 20yo un-chillfiltered, 55.3% ABV

Nose: sulphur tantalising my senses, soft orange aromas gradually come in, the nose is layered with notes of oak wood, dates, wood glue and cumin, with just a trace of butter banana lurking about.

Mouth: a creamy body with a sour but spicy palate. Plum brandy invigorated with cayenne pepper, cloves and coriander. Further on a fruity touch of ripe figs, and chocolate sprinkles.

Finish: medium long, bitter and drying, chocolate milk with a black pepper edge.

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Verdict: None of this makes sense nor does one aspect of this dram match the other… but I am loving it, who cares about balance when every level hold a new surprise? The presence of notes of chocolate milk (the bottled kind you buy in the supermarket) is so strong, that after a while it’s all you can think about. Heck, when I sniff the now empty glass, it’s only chocolate milk that I can smell, is my brain is playing a trick on me?

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