Deanston Distillery Only – Hand-Filled 6 Years Old 2017

An official release of Deanston, a 6 year old, from 2017, at 58.5%. Deanston is a Highland single malt, the old cotton mill at Doune turned distillery in 1966. It runs an open top mash tun, two wash and two spirit stills of a bulbous shape.

The spirit was distilled from unpeated Scottish barley in bulbous copper stills, the long ferment building a fruity, estery character. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the honey. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit fresh, green and waxy. Unchillfiltered and at natural colour, it keeps the full waxy body in the glass. The long ferment and clear wort give a fruity spirit that ages with grace. It draws water from the River Teith, which also drives the turbine that powers the distillery. Its old weaving shed, once full of looms, is now a cool stone warehouse for the casks.

At a natural 58.5% it is full and waxy. A fruity, waxy sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. It is fruity and waxy, the malty spirit shining through. The finish is long, waxy and gently spiced. This is a fruity, unchillfiltered Highland single malt.