Deanston 21 Years Old 1996 Cask #600009 + 600010 (Murray McDavid)

This Deanston was bottled by the bottler Murray McDavid, a 21 year old, distilled in 1996, from cask 600009 + 600010, bottled at 46%. Deanston is a Highland single malt, the old cotton mill at Doune turned distillery in 1966. Its flagship is the 12 year old, bottled unchillfiltered at 46.3%.

The spirit was made on River Teith water and condensed in shell and tube condensers, the long ferment building a fruity, estery character. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin lending vanilla under the green fruit. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins add a gentle, drying grip to the honey. Unchillfiltered and at natural colour, it keeps the full waxy body in the glass. The waxy texture is the Deanston signature, carried through the years in cask. Years in oak round the spirit, the green apple and honey deepening over the wax. Deanston is the only distillery in Scotland to generate all its own power from the river.

Reduced to 46%, it is mellow. A bright, honeyed orchard fruit, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run green apple, pear and a soft honey. It finishes long, waxy and warming. This is the soft, waxy malt of Doune.