Official bottling | 46.3% ABV

Covering the basics

Why in the name of all that is un-chill filtered have we not reviewed Deanston’s 12yo yet?

I asked myself that recently while searching for a review in the Dramface archives. While nosing my own pour of the 12yo one night, I was slightly surprised when I couldn’t find one.

Dramface has, in its relatively short existence, touched upon a myriad of well known, decent (and less decent) core releases. From the ones you find on offer in supermarkets to those made in smaller batches and found in specialist shops. Yet, we seemed to have overlooked this one. But why?

Deanston’s 12yo has garnered a lot of praise and appreciation amongst whisky enthusiasts. It regularly features on permashelf lists, whisky-of-the-year shortlists and is often mentioned in the same breath as Arran’s or Glencadam’s 10 year olds for being considered Good Value. On top of that its availability seems to be widespread enough to get into many a drinker’s glass the world over.

Ubiquitous and well presented as it is… We have never reviewed it. I can only speak for myself when I say it never occurred to me to do so, because I assumed incorrectly (a regular occurrence) that a whisky this well-known in ‘our circles’ would have already been reviewed and re-reviewed by one or more of our writers. Maybe that’s what the others thought as well.

We can’t blame ourselves here. Stable core range offerings are at risk of being slightly overlooked as we fall deeper down the rabbit hole and dig for indie’s, single casks, cask strength offerings and other more unique stuff. Not on purpose. Maybe we just feel like we’ve gotten to know the regular core range bottles well enough, and that potentially more challenging, more interesting, more rewarding flavours are forever to be found over the next horizon.

Which is exactly why we need to return to these trusted drams every now and then. Firstly, because we can often find ourselves slightly surprised at how good they still are to us, even as our palates develop into uncharted territory. And secondly, because the prices of the bottles we sometimes end up chasing instead tenderise us into continuously spending more money than we set out to. As if we weren’t past that stage yet.

I remember spending €30/35 on my first bottles of whisky and thinking I’d never go past the €50 mark. “For a bottle of booze? Who am I? Bill Gates?” Silly me. The journey continued steadily onwards and the spending became steadily higher. And now, 5 years and swathes of indie’s and interesting bottles later, I too have to regularly go back to these solid core range drams, to remind myself that good quality and presentation isn’t only to be found around the next (ever more expensive) corner.

Glencadam 10, Arran 10, Deanston 12, Ledaig 10, Loch Lomond 12. We shouldn’t forget that these carry the labels Good Value and Quality for a reason. More often than not they are the bottles responsible for our entry into the integrity-forward direction of our whisky enjoyment.

Since quite a few of us have this delightfully understated, old-fashioned, and tastefully presented label sitting on the shelf, we decided to bring you an array of opinions so that you can form your own idea of whether or not this might present as Good Value to your palate as well! Don’t you just love a good collab?

Review 1/3 - Mason

Deanston 12yo, Official bottling, 46.3% ABV
£42-45 or less and widely available

I’ll be honest; I wasn’t a fan right away.

I hadn’t tried it yet and my expectations were quite high, because of its reputation. But other than a pleasant experience from the nose (one of the first times I picked up clear signs of waxiness in whisky), I was met with a palate that was tangy, bitter (not the good kind), difficult to enjoy, and a bit hot and fractured.

Three years ago that would’ve disappointed me, but after a few more tastes over a month or two, I decided to take out a decent chunk and decant it into another bottle. With a decent amount of air in the original bottle I left it to oxidise for another month or two before going back to it and, lo and behold, it improved dramatically. Over the past few weeks this has been a relief. On some nights, an absolute peach.

All it needed was time.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A solid introduction into ex-bourbon-matured Scotch*

Nose

Red apples, some lightly sugared bread notes, apple crumble pie. Cooled-off caramel, some vanilla, but not too much. There’s a green, sometimes slightly challenging adhesive note that seems to become less prominent as the level in the bottle goes down. The same can be said for that waxiness. It was obviously there when I opened the bottle and before I went past the shoulder, but seems to be disappearing now I’m a third of the way down.

Palate

Apples, vanilla extract, confectionery sweetness like wine gums and sour gummy sweets. A green apple tartness brings the arrival into the finish, where an inoffensive bitterness takes over and hangs around for a bit.

The Dregs

This has been growing on me. Like I said, it took me a while to get on with this, and maybe the batch you’ll buy will do the same to you. Don’t panic. Just have a glass every now and then to get it some way down shoulder level, and then just leave it to breathe for a month or three, and come back to it with fresh eyes.

The palate has gone from struggling to hold on to a 5/10, to being a solid, high 6/10. Dependable, an easy pick for when you just want a nice dram with that ex-bourbon cask profile. Good Stuff.

And now for a small whinge: nowhere on the label or the tube does it state that this is natural colour. If you visit their website, you’ll find that there is indeed no artificial colouring added, and proudly stated. If I were Deanston, I’d put it on the bottle, the tube, the cork, and wherever I could get away with it. Some distilleries don’t seem to realise that it’s something they can brag about, instead of something to shy away from because only the fickle enthusiasts care about it. Come on, Deanston, follow your Tobermory and Bunnahabhain stall mates and get it on the label. Whinge over.

Score: 6/10 MM

Review 2/3 - Hamish

Deanston 12yo, Official bottling, 46.3% ABV
£42-45 or less and widely available

Thanks to Mason for offering this one. I also couldn’t believe this hadn’t been covered before on Dramface.

I can’t recall how many bottles of Deanston 12 I’ve actually gone through. Typically on offer throughout the year on the Bezos marketplace and a bottle I’d happily recommend and gift to new whisky drinkers.

I’ve always purchased this newer label version, so it's hard to compare how this stands up to the older, brown-labelled Deanston 12yo (a label which I prefer!).

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Fresh, malty and delicious. Hard to beat for the price*

Nose

A nice introduction with a wave of sweetness. Loads of honey and vanilla cream. Biscuity. Uncooked jumbo oats. A little cream element in there; whipped cream almost. Malty with a lemon freshness which almost reminds me of lemon meringue. There’s a hint of lavender and heather too. More malt, dried hay and some sawdust. Traces of salted caramel, white chocolate and soft fudge.

Palate

Bags of honey right up front. Spiced and delicious woodiness; clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. Chopped dates, cola cube sweets and pops of aniseed. Great texture and mouthfeel with a nice weight. Coats the palate nicely giving a long enough finish here. The malt, honey and vanilla flavour clings on with softer spice coming through as the taste fades. Some honeydew melon appears after a few sips, making me go back for more

The Dregs

As this is the surprise first review of the Deanston 12yo here on Dramface, there was talk amongst the writers comparing the 12yo to the great value 18yo. They are different malts altogether, but I must say I do prefer the 12 just a tad. I am a big fan of the 18yo and reviewed two side by side (old & new label bottles) and Fergus also reviewed the older expression here. But this 12 has layers of complexity that can appeal to any level of whisky drinker - fan and enthusiast.

For the price too, it’s very hard to look past it. It differs from its peers like Arran 10yo and Glencadam 10yo by bringing a fresher and more malty taste to the party. You can sit with this one and enjoy it with company, or delve deep into it to uncover what it has to offer.

A bottle I’ll always replace in the collection and, especially when the deals roll in, I'll stock up rightly.

Score: 7/10 HF

Review 3/3 - Wally

Deanston 12yo, Official bottling, 46.3% ABV
£42-45 or less and widely available

Good eyes on Mason; catching the fact that we hadn’t reviewed this one yet. I’m sure there will be more that we’ve missed, but if you’re aware of any - let us know in the comments. I’m particularly happy we’re catching this bottle though; it sits on the Permashelf for me.

My first dalliance with Deanston’s 12 year old wasn’t wonderful. They were giving away miniatures at the Stirling Highland games one year, I think back in 2012 or so. I grabbed one and sipped it in a field. As much as I enjoyed it I felt it was plain and pretty standard, although I was pleasantly surprised with the hike in ABV which I hadn’t been aware of until then. Still, I left it alone. But not for long.

A surprise of a 2014 tour of the distillery in Doune was that, amongst a very decent line up, I was drawn to the elegance of the standard 12 year old. I quickly became a fan of the distillery and was often surprised how well the spirit played in different casks and over the years I’ve accumulated many. Yet I always come back to the 12. However, over time, I’ve become aware of something.

Previous Deanston core releases were typically 40% and chill-filtered and coloured, like so many competitors who still are, and they were hardly setting the heather alight. Significant changes started to happen in 2009 across Burn Stewart distilleries however, as they made the switch to more natural whiskies; (clicking that link is a must - an article everyone should read) something we’re all very grateful for. However, in doing so, they did give something up.

You see, one of the ‘cheats’ that can be uncovered through chill-filtration and adding colour is an easier path to consistency. In the mass-market game of global scotch whisky sales at scale - even malt whisky - this is a huge benefit. People, we’re told, like to repeatedly buy the same bottle and the exact same experience each and every time, as if it were Coca Cola. Great effort is placed on achieving this.

But malt whisky is infamously fickle, try as producers might, it doesn’t always want to play the consistency game. This can be challenging for producers when they face a market made of customers who think malt whisky should behave the same as a blend, or they imagine smaller scale producers should be able to achieve the same consistent results as a distillery with millions upon millions of litres produced annually. The truth is, they often cannot.

Hopefully by now, we, as maniacal whisky botherers, know that - especially with smaller distilleries - batch by batch and certainly over time - we may often see a drift in style and character, sometimes even over a short space of time. Season, cask quality, scale of batch, available stocks, head distiller or often responsible blender, can all contribute to differences. Some of us are pretty happy about this, while others remain troubled.

Have a look at the image below . I snapped this from a retail shelf in the USA. These are two Deanston 12 year old sitting side-by-side on the same shelf. Not only is this proof that, despite no mention on the label these days, Deanston still goes for natural colour, it’s also proof that batch variation remains a thing. Even if we sipped these two in the image blind, I’m pretty sure we’d uncover differences in nosing and taste.

However, I am a believer that today the minimum quality floor for all of these distilleries currently under the ownership of CVH Spirits: Tobermory (Ledaig), Bunnahabhain and Deanston, are all high enough that it’s really not too much of a concern. Yes, there have been ‘lesser’ batches, but in my own personal experience, I’ve never unearthed anything that let me down.

It’s single malt Scotch whisky - intrinsically and by definition - a small batch made product. Embrace the variety!

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Some batches make a 7/10, but it’s always good, Permashelf stuff*

Nose

Toffee sauce and butterscotch, sweet apples, warm wax, orange juice, distant lilies, vanilla icing and butter cream fondant.

Palate

A pretty thick arrival starts a little sharp and dry before coating the palate with sweet apple sauce and citrus oils, some lightly cracked peppercorns too. It does have a ‘perfumed’ feel; a potpourri side - floral. Buttery toffee and brown sugars prevail though, before a long finish with pineapple syrup and white pepper.

The Dregs

The bottle under review was opened for this exercise and I’m immediately aware that it is a little richer and slightly less ‘fresh’ than the creamy and fragrant bottle it replaces. A little more first-fill ex-bourbon? More active wood? Perhaps, but it’s still a lovely wee whisky.

Deanston 12 is a little like a friend that you only see every few years. Each reacquaintance brings new and different surprises along to the conversation, but underneath it’s unmistakably the reliable old friend it always was. Thanks again to Mason for righting a wrong and getting it included in the annals of Dramface.

Over to you - what else have we missed?

PS: We’re on holiday for the next couple of weeks but we’ll still be in the comments, and there are a few articles that will drop amongst throwbacks and staff picks in the socials. If you’re stuck - hit the search bar and type anything you like, even a tasting note like ‘pebbles’!

Score: 6/10 WMc

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. MM

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