After a very good Caol Ila 2007 which was released under his Scotch & Tattoos label and the beautiful twin bottles (also both Caol Ila) together with his buddy Roger from Roger’s Whisky Company, Torsten also recently released a Deanston 2011.
If you know Torsten a little bit then you know that he puts a lot of effort into his bottles and you also know that he likes to experiment a bit when it comes to cask finishes for example. That takes guts, especially if you are still a relatively young bottler. Other than that, he is also someone who loves to hear other people’s opinions about his bottles so he knows if he is doing well or that has to adjust some things and I can only appreciate this approach. And I know I’m definitely not the only one who likes what he does because his bottles are selling quite good!
And that brings us back to this 9 year old Deanston. Personally, I am not very familiar with Deanston, I visited the distillery a few years ago and while I really liked the whiskies I tasted there, I actually haven’t had any Deanston single malts at all since then. So it’s nice to be able to taste one again after a few years.
This Deanston has matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead and is finished in a ex-Islay ex-oloroso octave. Bottled at a strength of 52.3% ABV.
Deanston 2011 tasting notes:
Nose: a bit restrained at first. Red berries and a hint of lemons. Nutmeg in the background. A little bit of honey. Red apples. After a while, it starts to open up. A touch of nougat, caramel fudge. A whiff of peat. Followed by oranges.
Taste: quite sweet with plenty of honey in the beginning. Dried fruits, such as raisins and figs. Dark chocolate and toffee. A whiff of peat and some oak. Plenty of spices such as red chilli peppers, nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon.
Finish: mid-long and it’s a bit dry. Some oak and liquorice and all the same spices as on the palate. Toffee too.
The nose is a bit closed at first, but after a while, that changes and it becomes rather nice. The palate, however, starts lovely, but after that, the spices take over and it gets quite dry. It seems that it just got a little too much influence from the wood, well at least for me. All in all, I think a lot of people will like it, but it’s just not my type of whisky.
Sample provided by Torsten Paul Whisky Company.
