Price: $95 AUD
Purchased From: Dan Murphy’s
ABV: 46.3%
This is a 2025 release of Deanston’s flagship malt. Matured entirely in 1st-fill ex-Bourbon barrels, non-chill filtered and natural colour. Any quality bottle under $100 these days is good value and I managed to find this on special.
Deanston is a fantastic distillery to visit if you ever get the chance. A really interesting building which was once an old cotton mill. It has some great tours, one of which will see you sample some drams in their dunnage, direct from the cask (which I was lucky enough to do back in 2023).
Nose
Cereal driven. Fresh hay, oak, barley sugar. A little vanilla, but not as much as you would expect from ex-Bourbon.
Taste
Sweet and sour at first, but after this subsides we get those creamy vanilla and cereal notes coming through. Oatmeal, green apples, honey, subtle spice – quite malt forward.
Conclusion
This is easily in my top 10 affordable bottlings. It’s everything you want from a well priced, entry level whisky – non-chill filtered, natural colour and bottled at a good ABV. Some people don’t like that waxy, almost soapy style spirit that Deanston produces, but I think it’s what makes them unique.