Deanston is not a very popular distillery. Its history is fairly short (founded in 1965 and silent from 1983 until 1990) although the site was used as a cotton mill since the 18th Century. The official 12yo is hard to find and usually described as just so-so. Based on the quality of previous Thosop bottlings, I’m expecting a surprise!
Deanston 33 yo 1977
(43%, Thosop Import 2010, 205 btl.)
Deanston 33 yo 1977 Nose: starts mashy and cardboardy, but I was told to give it some time. After some twenty minutes and a bit of hand warmth it’s a totally different story. Now very much on creamy notes, chocolate cream desserts, cake, moccha. Rather oily and surprisingly sweet. A mixture of overripe fruits with honey, some citrus and nutty notes. A subtle hint of oak. I feel this one really needed the hand warmth to fully expose its qualities.
Mouth: not extremely punchy, but plenty of nice flavours. A toffee sweetness again, developing on fresher, fruitier notes over time (sweet grapefruit and oranges). There’s still a malty and nutty side to it.
Finish: not too long – in line with the palate.
It’s true: even the worst distillery has beautiful bottlings. Kudos to Thosop for proving this, if you ever wanted to own a good Deanston, this is your chance! Personally I think the best part is the nose. Around € 150.
Score: 87/100