One more Deanston from Distell 2019 collection and this time it’s the 1997 vintage 21 Year Old finished in Palo Cortado casks.

The whisky was distilled and filled into bourbon casks on November 1997 where it matured for over 18 years and then it was finished in the Palo Cortado sherry hogsheads since April 2016 (so finished for over 2 years).

1663 (or maybe it’s 280?) bottles were made, bottled at 51.8%.

Last year Distell released Palo Cortado finished Bunnahabhain which was excellent and I assume those Palo Cortado casks here are from the same cask parcel so I have high expectations!

Deanston 1997 21 Year Old Palo Cortado Cask Finish (51.8%, £150/€237,99)

Nose: Lovely depth of notes. There’s earthy side here with dried fruits, and Portobello mushrooms, dark chocolate, sherry vinegar, dark cherries, a few specks of nutmeg and cinnamon and eventually the Deanston honey and cereals shows up through the cracks of the sherry casks notes. Continue reading →

The second Deanston in Distell 2019 Collection is a 2002 vintage aged for 16 years. It spent 14 years in re-charred ex-bourbon casks on (filled on 18th December 2002), then transferred into organic Oloroso casks (supplied by Robles, the only fully organic sherry producer) on 5th May 2016 for additional 2 years or so.

Total of 528 (or 3492) bottles were made for this limited edition.

Deanston 2002 16 Year Old Organic Oloroso Cask Finish (50.6%, €113.99)

Nose: Soft, strong malt and cereals notes, with bread dough and croissant, honey. Then sweet red dried berries, cinnamon and nutmeg, chocolate, creamy and soft. The sherry impact isn’t overpowering here but the balance between the notes is exquisite. Continue reading →

Deanston distillery is the lesser known member in Distell distilleries portfolio and also the most underrated one. But in the the last few years, Distell has released a few Deanston limited editions that made some waves and raised the wareness of the distillery products in whisky drinkers minds.

This year, Distill has includes no less than three different Deanston offerings in their Distell 2019 collection and of course we’ll check them all this week here on Whisky Gospel.

The first one up is the younger offering: Deanston from 2006 with 12 Year Old age statement that was finished in Fino sherry casks.

It’s the first time Fino sherry has been used in Deanston – senior blender Dr. Kirstie McCallum decided to take deanston malt that laid in bourbon casks for 9 and a half years and finish  it for two and a half years in Fino sherry casks.

It was bottled at 55% and it’s not clear how many bottles are out there – I’ve seen conflicting numbers of 1608 bottles and 268 bottles (maybe the latter is UK market share?), either way – not too many of those out there…

Deanston 2006 12 Year Old Fino Cask Finish (55%, £64.95/€84.95)

Nose: Malty and sweet grapes a la muscat, almonds croissant, nutty, nutmeg, sultanas, very soft, hint of pepper, soft and silky. Continue reading →