Deanston is a brand I have been familiar with for about 7 years now. It started while pre-gaming for a concert one night in Philly while visiting one of my good friends. I stopped on the way and picked up a bottle of Ardbeg oogie and wanted a cheap non peated whisky for the pre-game. I saw something called “Deanston Virgin Oak” and it was around $25. I picked it up and read the bottle (non chill filtered, natural color, 46.3% abv) and thought “A craft presentation at $25?” I’ll take it. And that night started my Deanston journey. I won’t be reviewing the Virgin Oak anytime soon as it’s quite young and spicy but I do remember it being worth the small price tag at the time. Anyway – on to the Deanston 18.
Smelling this one is nice – vanilla, green apple, pear, fresh fruits, barley sugar
Taste is good - vanilla, clove, pepper, green apple, honey
Finish is decent with the bitter/green apple and spice carrying it out.
The Deanston 18 is really nice. It’s not cheap but I’m not sure that you can find any 18yr old craft whisky at a fair price anymore. I paid $105 for this and have seen it as high as $175. I am not too sure about getting value at the higher end of that but for around $100 I think it’s probably worth it. Whatever price you find it at you are getting a craft single malt with no branding at all which is “Exactly as it should be”...See what I did there? Anyone??
Overall Grade: B