Deanston 19 Years Old 1999 Cask #AM 130 (Asta Morris)

The bottler Asta Morris bottled this Deanston, a 19 year old, distilled in 1999, from cask AM 130, bottled at 53.1%, one of 217 bottles. Deanston is a Highland malt made in a vaulted stone mill, waxy and malty in style. The site was the Adelphi cotton mill, built in 1785 by Sir Richard Arkwright and turned to whisky in 1965.

The spirit was made on River Teith water and condensed in shell and tube condensers, for the waxy, honeyed make Deanston is known for. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin lending vanilla under the green fruit. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed, the malt deepening over its waxy weight. Maturing in the vaulted stone warehouse, the spirit develops slow and steady. River Teith water and a long ferment give the fruity, estery Deanston make. The mill ran for 180 years before cotton declined and the site became a distillery.

At a hearty 53.1% it carries real weight. Baked apple, honey and a creamy malt, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run green apple, pear and a soft honey. Apple, honey and a soft oak spice see out a long finish. This is a green, honeyed Highland malt with a waxy heart.