Deanston Mill 8 Years Old UD Seiba Import (UD – bottler)

A Deanston of an 8 year old chosen by an undisclosed bottler, bottled at 40%. Deanston is a honeyed, waxy Highland malt distilled beside the River Teith since 1966. Its old weaving shed, once full of looms, is now a cool stone warehouse for the casks.

Mashed in the open top tun and fermented long for a fruity make, for the waxy, honeyed make Deanston is known for. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the gentle American oak letting the waxy malt lead. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted sugars (light caramel) over the fruity, waxy spirit. Long ageing turns the fresh fruit towards honey, dried fruit and a soft spice. The clean, fruity spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey to the fore. The light, fruity make takes cask flavour well while keeping its honey and wax. Unchillfiltered and at natural colour, it keeps the full waxy body in the glass. The site was the Adelphi cotton mill, built in 1785 by Sir Richard Arkwright and turned to whisky in 1965.

At 40% it is clean and soft. Green fruit, honey and a soft spice, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a gentle clove lift it. It finishes long, waxy and warming. This is the soft, waxy malt of Doune.