Yesterday it was The Deveron 12 turn and today it’s the older brother turn, The Deveron 18 Year Old. I had the opportunity to taste an advanced sample of Deveron 18 during Whisky Live Tel-Aviv, directly from visiting Bacardi ambassador Lomond Campbell. Luckily I saved some of it for later and deeper tasting so it made sense to compare the sample to the final commercially released whisky.
Advanced sample on the left, final Deveron 18 on the right. Notice the color difference.
As can seen from the picture above there’s a slight color change with the final version boasting a darker shade of color. Of course we can suspect some e150a involvement or go for the reasonable explanation that the final whisky vatting recipe was different. But was it? If so, the smells and taste should be different. Let’s check them.
Deveron 1996 Indicative 18yo (40%, bottled 01/05/14, Sample: 1405125-GB12)
Nose: Creamy, soft yet has some dust and spicy background with pepper, a lot of apples and toffee.
Palate: Apples, vanilla pudding, honey, cream, toffee, hints of spices, oak wood, dry.
Finish: Short medium finish, pudding, apples, oak wood, smooth and dry.
The Deveron 18 Year Old (40%, £54.95/€52,95)
Nose: Very creamy and soft (more than the 1996 sample), apples and toffee, the spiciness is muted comparing to the sample and no dustiness.
Palate: Creamy, green apples, hints of toffee, honey and towards the end some black pepper at the background.
Finish: Short-medium finish, cream, green apples peels, oak wood spices and black pepper sticking to the upper mouth.
Thoughts: Yeah, the final whisky is a bit different. Personally I preferred the indicative sample over the official result. The advanced sample is a bit more rogue and more alive while the final whisky feels more refined and a bit flatter. In fact I think it’s too refined and smooth, making it a bit boring in my book. If I have to choose, I’d take The Deveron 12 over the Deveron 18 Year Old.
(Official sample from Bacardi)
Nose: Creamy, big mix of soft golden and green apples, honey, nuts (natural cashews), half-squeezed green grapes, a bit of salt and limestone dust. Despite having a low ABV it feels more solid than the Roayal Brackla lineup which was bottled at the same ABV. 
Nose: At first sniff it feels even younger than 8 yo Glenrothes from the last review. There is a big malt and cereals mix and some beeswax. The sherry casks are felt at first with light dried fruits coupled with sweet and fresh red berries but then the impact slowly turns into a fruitier impact with some apricots and lemon peels along with the red and dried fruits, 
Nose: Malty and creamy coconut, vanilla with a touch of honey, oak wood spices, develops some green apples at the background with a surprising briney note and then slowly some weak sherry impact shows up: chocolate, nutmeg and cinnamon. A very gentle nose.
Nose: Starts off with some youth and malt then the ruby impact quickly covers it with plums and raisins, redcurrants and blackcurrant. After a minute there’s honey, artificial sweetener, vanilla and smoke. 
Nose: It’s young alright with lots of malt notes, sweet malt, bread, cereals and barley sugar. There’s even some roughness but hey, here comes the sherry impact with mellow and sweet dried fruit, some plums, raisins, very subtle comparing to the strong maltiness and is noticeable just enough to balance it out. 
Nose: Unlike the 12 & 16, the 21 Year Old starts with a grassy tone instead of the floral one, a lot of meadow grass and hay notes but slowly the floral notes crawl back. White chocolate, honey, dry but less so than the younger siblings, sweet golden apples, slight sherry impact with dried fruit, nutmeg and cloves, creamy and a bit waxy. After a while, maltiness, subtle dark chocolate and some eucalyptus and menthol shows up. 
Nose: Starts with floral note of violets and a springtime meadow grass, flint and limestone, white chocolate, honey, pears and a lots of apricots. It’s very dry, getting sweeter and fruitier over time, green melon, green apples and unripe mango.
Nose: Well, you can’t miss the fact it’s a Glenmorangie whisky with such a creamy and very soft nose with all those citrus, honey and nutty notes. Upon further nosing there are almonds and some macadamia nuts, even some floral edge, oak wood spices and with some time more explicit malt note. 
Nose: Macallan? Are you sure? It smells like sherried Highland park to me. Peat smoke, lots of sherry goodness, There were multiple casks involved in creating this whisky but I bet there were a lots of Spanish wood casks in the mix. Prunes, dried fruit, gentle nutmeg and to lesser extent cinnamon, quite a fresh and polished nose. With time it gets sweeter and further sherried but still keeping the fresh theme and not going into cloying territory, spicy with a nice dose of white pepper, a bit of dust, cloves, gentle smoke going through all the time. 
Whisky Gospel 