Deanston 10 Years Old 2008 (Authentic Collection)

The Campbeltown house Cadenhead bottled this Deanston, a 10 year old, distilled in 2008, bottled at 53.6%, one of 270 bottles. Deanston is a Highland single malt distilled in a converted cotton mill on the River Teith near Doune. The mill ran for 180 years before cotton declined and the site became a distillery.

Worked through a long ferment and the bulbous stills for a waxy, fruity make, building the honeyed Deanston style. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a light vanilla and a soft honey. In integration lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the spirit, the green apple deepening to honey. A gentle maturation suits the soft make, the honey and wax growing richer with time. Unchillfiltered and at natural colour, it keeps the full waxy body in the glass. Long ageing turns the fresh fruit towards honey, dried fruit and a soft spice.

At its natural 53.6% it is concentrated. Honey, malt and a gentle clove, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Pear, honey and a creamy malt fill the middle. The close is waxy and warming, fruit over a gentle oak. This is Deanston, the mill turned distillery on the Teith.