Deanston 8 Years Old 2011 Cask #DL 13960 (Old Particular)

An 8 year old Deanston from the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, distilled in 2011, from cask DL 13960, bottled at 57.8%, one of 249 bottles. Deanston is a Highland single malt known for its waxy texture and unchillfiltered bottlings. The distillery sits on the River Teith near Doune, between Stirling and the Highlands.

The spirit was worked through a long ferment and the bulbous stills for a waxy, fruity make, for a soft, waxy make of green apple and honey. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin lending vanilla under the green fruit. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted sugars (light caramel) over the fruity, waxy spirit. Years in oak round the spirit, the green apple and honey deepening over the wax. The waxy texture is the Deanston signature, carried through the years in cask. The site was the Adelphi cotton mill, built in 1785 by Sir Richard Arkwright and turned to whisky in 1965.

Bottled at a cask strength 57.8%, it is rich. A fruity, waxy sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft orchard fruit and honey sit behind the cask. The finish is long, waxy and gently spiced. This is the soft, waxy malt of Doune.