Deanston 8 Years Old 2017 Decadent Drams (Decadent Drinks)

A Deanston of an 8 year old chosen by the bottler Decadent Drinks, distilled in 2017, bottled at 53%, one of 247 bottles. Deanston is a soft, malty Highland single malt from the old Adelphi cotton mill at Doune. The mill ran for 180 years before cotton declined and the site became a distillery.

Distilled from unpeated Scottish barley in bulbous copper stills, giving the soft, malty Highland spirit. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla and a touch of coconut from the lactones. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit fresh, green and waxy. Years in oak round the spirit, the green apple and honey deepening over the wax. A gentle maturation suits the soft make, the honey and wax growing richer with time. Deanston is the only distillery in Scotland to generate all its own power from the river. The distillery sits on the River Teith near Doune, between Stirling and the Highlands.

At a hearty 53% it carries real weight. Green apple, honey and a waxy malt, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a gentle clove lift it. A long, honeyed finish carries a green apple and a ginger spice. This is Deanston's waxy, fruity Highland style.