Generously_Paul
Deanston 12 Year Sherry Oak
Single Malt — Highlands , Scotland
Reviewed
November 29, 2018 (edited December 12, 2018)
Deanston 12 year Sherry Oak is not the same as the standard 12 year. This one is a Taiwanese market exclusive that I won at auction. The only info I have on the maturation is “finished in sherry casks”, so I don’t know what the primary maturation casks were (I suspect a mix of bourbon and sherry), or the length of the finishing period (I suspect 6-12 months). Bottled at 40% ABV, chill filtered and most likely has colorant added making it a beautiful ruby red.
Wow, talk about sweet. The nose is super sweet with intense sherry. Lots of sweet fruits, raisins, dates, grapes, plums, prunes. Brown sugar and vanilla, toffee, milk chocolate, honey and toasted oak. Fresh grainy bread, spiced fruitcake, this stuff is like a cavity riddled Christmas in a glass. Light oranges, pears and apricots. Banana bread and some sulfur after a while, but the sulfur notes are minimal at best and completely innocuous. Some may find this stuff over the top sweet, but it’s just right for me.
Like the nose, the palate is super sweet. Sherry, toffee and lots of honey. Raisins, fruitcake, nutmeg. Spicy chocolate which helps to balance out the sweetness (a little bit), a slight bitterness from a walnut note. Oranges, dried mango and apricots. Sticky sweet and syrupy. The palate definitely goes over the top and is most certainly a desert dram.
Light to medium bodied mouthfeel that is a bit watery and dry.
A medium length finish that is sticky sweet with fruitcake, sherry, sulfur and is quite dry.
Far too sweet for an everyday dram, but after a light meal when you want ice cream or pudding, this would make a fine choice. I can say this though, the Taiwanese must have one hell of a sweet tooth if this is indicative of the type of scotch that sells there. I really did enjoy the nose on this one and could spend the entire night nosing it. The palate is where it hits a snag. Other than a little spice and bread, it’s all sweet, sweet, sweet. Hammer price was $44 and even after my buyer’s fees and shipping I still think it was a good price for what I got. 3.75
Cheers
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@SolanaRoots yeah Paul sent me this as part of a five sample blind taste testing. I don’t recall notes on it, since I was more focused on guessing which sample was which, but I’d say this is a solid 3. On a related note...I got the Yamazaki Distiller nailed exactly, guessed two other right, and screwed up the other 2.
@LeeEvolved Cheers man. I’ve been hovering around the Deanston 12 & the Deanston 15 Organic but haven’t acquired either yet. Good to know the distillery has your stamp of approval
@SolanaRoots - Paul sent me a pour as part of his blind tasting challenge. I didn’t really write down many tasting notes and was more focused on getting more correct answers on the challenge part. I remember it being solid, but not quite the sherry bomb I expected once I found out what it was. I haven’t had a bad Deanston, though, and that continues here. Cheers.
Curious if @PBMichiganWolverine or @LeeEvolved tried this one
@Generously_Paul Remains a mystery then! Regardless, sounds like a good one especially for the sherry fans
@SolanaRoots very interesting, but it could be something they only claim for their western markets. It was nearly impossible to find any information about this one on the web, and it’s not on their own site.
@Generously_Paul Gotcha could certainly be both...I was just going off their statement on their website saying all their whiskies are “unchill-filtered and natural colour”
@SolanaRoots given that it’s 40% I would be shocked if it wasn’t chill filtered. As far as color goes, there was nothing on the box or bottle stating it was natural.
Great review @Generously_Paul - Deanston is usually au natural so kinda surprised this bottled was chill filtered & colored
Makes sense. I’ve yet to try auctions. I can’t get over those premiums and shipping
@PBMichiganWolverine it was cheap and it sounded like something I would like. Turns out I was right.
What made you want to buy a Deanston in auction? Unless you’re a Deanston fan?