I would like to credit Roy from Aqvavitae on YouTube for giving this whisky his endorsement, otherwise for $90 Canadian I would have passed on it. I was very surprised by the depth of Deanston's virgin oak for the value compared to the negative reviews it recieved, and feel the exact same way about this particular whisky as well. I had a suspicion that the older bottle with the darker label that most people have reviewed couldn't be the same whisky Roy and I were tasting, and earlier today Ralphy on YouTube pretty much confirmed it. Granted I could see how coming from ultra premium scotch could make Deanston 12 seam dull, to me it's head and shoulders above a lot of other 12 year olds I've had. It's much closer to a 15 year old to my nose and taste buds on the arrival, but slightly harsh on the nose. It's a very fruity/vanilla style whisky with full body. Very satisfying to me.