Deanston 12 Review

With a name that sounds more like a prep school than a Scottish single malt distillery, Deanston has long flown under the radar of many whisky fans. Deanston is a fairly young distillery, having been founded in 1966, which is young by Scotland distillery standards.  In spite of the distillery’s relative youth, the buildings that make up the distillery have a much longer history—Deanston was converted from a cotton mill which originated all the way back in 1785.

For most of its history, Deanston single malts have been either relatively hard to find or poorly regarded. Usually both. But after the distillery was purchased in 1990 by Burn Stewart, who also own Bunnahabhain and Tobermory, Deanston has slowly but steadily been gaining traction in the single malt world. Over the last few years in particular, Deanston seems to be more readily available and has gained quite a number of fans in whisky circles.

I first had a sample of Deanston 12 years old a couple of years ago at a friend’s house. I didn’t have very high expectations going in, but I ended up being quite impressed. In spite of my enjoyment of the whisky, I didn’t get around to buying a bottle for myself until just recently. It had been on my “need to buy” list for quite some time, but other items on that list always took precedent. Well I finally got a bottle and have thoroughly enjoyed working my way through it, so let’s have a look at the tasting notes.

Deanston 12 Review

Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Highlands
ABV: 46.3%
Non chill-filtered
Natural color*

Nose

Tons of apple and lemon, as if you just sliced them up. Sweet cinnamon. Malted milk balls. Vanilla milkshake. Graham crackers. Wet grass. Bamboo. Tea leaves. Cereal grains. Very enjoyable.

Palate

Lightly robust. Vanilla. Rich malt. Fruity. Spiced apple cider. Barley sugar. Crème brûlée. Mascarpone. Rock candy. Coffee beans. A little tannic, with a bit of wood varnish and freshly cut pine. Mango. Lemon candy. A touch of cinnamon. A lot of tea notes——black tea, green tea, but mostly fruit tea. Rich and full mouthfeel, slightly waxy.

Finish

Long. Hard candy. Vanilla milkshake. Toffee. Beeswax. Honey. Sour lemon. Mango. Over brewed tea.

Overall

This is one of the best entry level, 12 years or younger single malts on the market. Full, rich, and delightful, with a surprising amount of complexity.

It’s interesting how the tea notes evolve from un-brewed tea leaves on the nose, to brewed tea on the palate, and finally overly brewed tea on the finish.

Incredibly solid in every way, from a wonderful nose, to a nice palate, rich mouthfeel, and a long finish, this is quite a nice single malt. It may not be the most exciting whisky on the planet, but damn it’s good. Recommended.

SCORE: 86/100

Final Thoughts

This is a beginners malt for experienced whisky geeks. That may sound like a paradox, but what I mean is that this is what an entry-level single malt would probably taste like if an experienced drinker could create a beginner-style whisky to their liking. It makes for an excellent everyday type of dram. You can drink it easily without giving it much thought, or you can take your time and find a lot of interesting notes. Either way, you win.

*One thing to note—Deanston makes a big deal about being non chill-filtered (NCF) on the label—which is great—but the label does not specifically mention whether or not this is natural color. It seems strange to me that they would make it obvious that it’s NCF but not give the same type of attention to whether or not it’s free from artificial coloring. The label does state “Natural Ingredients: Water, Malted Barley”, so I assume that’s supposed to mean there is no artificial color.

UPDATE: Deanston contacted me and confirmed that all of their whiskies are indeed natural color. 

Buy Again? Yes. Tasty and reasonably priced, I expect to keep a bottle of Deanston around the house regularly.

Drink This Not That: Drink this. This is a dram that should appeal to anyone who enjoys single malt whisky. Well rounded and perfectly balanced, Deanston is starting to gain a stellar reputation amongst whisky geeks. A reputation that is well deserved.

Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.

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