Deanston 13 Years Old 2008 Cask #900077 (Signatory)

From the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, a 13 year old Deanston, distilled in 2008, from cask 900077, bottled at 65.7%, one of 477 bottles. Deanston is a green, honeyed Highland malt from the Teith valley, the only Scottish distillery to make its own power. Deanston is the only distillery in Scotland to generate all its own power from the river.

The spirit was made on River Teith water and condensed in shell and tube condensers, the long ferment building a fruity, estery character. It was matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood working slowly into the waxy malt. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the body softer and waxier. Years in oak round the spirit, the green apple and honey deepening over the wax. The mill ran for 180 years before cotton declined and the site became a distillery. Active wood frames the fruit without overwhelming the soft Highland spirit.

At a natural 65.7% it is full and waxy. A bright, honeyed orchard fruit, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The texture is soft and waxy, the fruit lifted by vanilla. It finishes long, waxy and warming. This is Deanston, the mill turned distillery on the Teith.