
July 17, 2026

WF's Little Duos,
today indie Deanston

You know, we receive tonnes of press releases from distilleries and, generally speaking, they all announce innovations, 'firsts', world premieres, which almost invariably boil down to the use of 'innovative' casks. Just like everyone else. The very same ones, syrah, mizunara, double-char, PX, ruby Port, and all the rest of it. This worldwide herd instinct is becoming thoroughly tedious, to the point where we almost no longer read any press releases at all, since they're all exactly the same anyway, almost word for word. And no, we have absolutely no desire to join a video call with the master whatever, it would merely be time lost forever (unless it’s Brora, ha). The last time we did so, the very engaging and indeed very talented master blender explained to us at great length how the blueberries growing in the valley where the distillery is located influenced the flavour of the whiskies. I very nearly gave up Scotch whisky on the spot (joking). Anyway, if I'm telling you all this, it's because we're about to taste one of the undisputed champions of bizarre, yet sometimes excellent finishings, albeit from independent bottlers. And clean. Coz indies tend to do it better (and rarely send fluffy PR pieces)...

Deanston 8 yo 2017/2025 (53.1%, Decadent Drams, 1st fill bourbon barrel, 247 bottles)

Frankly, Mr Decadent Sponge, aka Angus, had better have some jolly good reasons for putting us through an 8-year-old Deanston like this. Between us, we do love Deanston, but the ever-growing parade of improbable finishings from the distillery has rather worn us down of late. Colour: gold. Nose: beers, barley, overripe apples and fresh breads of every description. So far, so good, we're staying reassuringly close to Mother Nature. Bourbon, baby. With water: a little oil, sunflower and the like, ripe apples, buckwheat pancakes, bread... Mouth (neat): this is really very good, this is malt whisky. You take barley, you wait until the dormancy period is over, you malt it, you run it through the mill, you add hot water, you add yeast, you leave it to ferment, you distil it once, you distil it a second time, you reduce it a little, you fill good old regular oak casks, then you wait while saying your prayers. That's it. With water: nothing to add. This is young malt whisky, it is very good, it is for lovers of nature and, perhaps, for the ever-growing ranks of survivalists. Lovely touches of orange in the aftertaste. Finish: long, yeasty, bready, fruity, beery... Citrus fruits and Timut pepper following. Comments: there seem to be countless tiny flavours and aromas lurking about, but it would take a whole evening to pin them down, and even longer to comment on them all. Seriously, this is really very good, it's just that there are many others of a similar ilk, including a fair few from D.D.
SGP:551 - 84 points.

Deanston 16 yo 2009/2025 (56.3%, The Whisky Blues, hogshead, cask #300845, 171 bottles)

You know, whenever we read nothing more than 'hogshead', we positively quiver with delight. As for the label, it reminds us of the latest fashionable Québécois band, 'Angine de Poitrine'. Crazy stuff, we love them, do check them out. Colour: light gold. Nose: it is simply the age that makes the difference. May I remind you that age is the principal constituent of any so-called 'matured' spirit, and that anyone telling you otherwise is either a wee clown or being paid by the distilleries. Barley + water + yeast + oak + TIME. Right, what we have here is simply a central-style malt, without any particular personality yet displaying remarkable aromatic precision. Once again, it is all about nature... With water: lemon syrup and barley syrup. One could scarcely make it any simpler. Mouth (neat): now this is very, very good indeed, full of liquorice wood and freshly grated lemon zest. Millimetric, simple, almost austere, yet excellent. With water: beers, liquorice, peppers. It loses a little of its focus, though it remains genuinely very good. Finish: fairly long, though less interesting now, rather too herbal, with fairly bitter yeasty notes. Comments: oops, it doesn't swim especially well, this is neither Mark Spitz nor Léon Marchand. Too bad, the foundations were solid.
SGP:461 - 81 points.

Check the index of all Deanston we've tasted

WF's Little Duos, today indie Deanston

WF's Little Duos,
today indie Deanston