Deanston Red Wine Matured 9 Years Old 2008

Deanston from the distillery, a 9 year old, from 2008, at 58.7%, 1400 bottles in all. Deanston is a Highland single malt, unchillfiltered and made from Scottish barley near Stirling. Its old weaving shed, once full of looms, is now a cool stone warehouse for the casks.

The spirit was run through the bulbous stills with their upward sloping lyne arms, giving the soft, malty Highland spirit. It was matured in a Red Wine cask, the wood working slowly into the waxy malt. In these extractive early years the oak gives vanillin as vanilla and oak lactones as coconut over bright green apple and honey. The cool, even temperature of the old weaving shed gives a slow, steady maturation. The light, fruity make takes cask flavour well while keeping its honey and wax. Refill oak lets the waxy, honeyed Deanston character lead the way. The mill ran for 180 years before cotton declined and the site became a distillery.

At cask strength 58.7% it is full bodied. Green apple, honey and a waxy malt, with red berry and a dry spice from the cask. The texture is soft and waxy, the fruit lifted by vanilla. The finish is rounded, honeyed and gently spiced. This is a green, honeyed Highland malt with a waxy heart.