The new series by The Whisky Agency (the 16th already if I’m not mistaken) are all joint bottlings with our Belgian bottler / distributor The Nectar. We’ll start with this Deanston 1977 bottled at cask strength 40,4%.
Deanston 35 yo 1977
(40,4%, The Whisky Agency & The Nectar 2012, refill hogshead, 253 btl.)
Deanston 35 yo 1977Nose: a gently fruity profile mixed with spices that remind me of our Belgian “speculoos”. There’s cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, some brown sugar… Butter pear and apple compote. A little hay and heather as well. Tiny floral notes. Overall it’s also quite dusty and slightly earthy which in this case works very well.
Mouth: half sweet, half spicy. A faint fruitiness (papaya) with creamy pear again. Honey. It’s a bit soft of course, and you can feel the oak creeping in with ginger and a soft bitterness, but overall it’s still good. A hint of frangipane, chocolate and wax towards the end.
Finish: medium, with soft oak, mint and spices.
This Deanston is all about subtlety, so it may not be very powerful, but it’s certainly very drinkable and it shows quite a lot of complexity. Around € 180.
Score: 88/100