Deanston Organic 21yo
2000 Vintage | 50.9% ABV
Purple haze. Lavender haze. Hazey Jane.
A selection of recent plays from my Spotify? Maybe. Jimi, Taylor, and Nick are well within the bounds of my listening habits, depending on how the mood strikes.
Haze… It could be the Scotch mist that greets water or ice added to your dram. Or perhaps it’s the pink variety that descends over an evening of clinking glasses and convivial chat with friends at a favourite watering hole.
Mists have been on my mind lately. Fitting, perhaps, when you’re fighting your way through another Scottish winter subject to the usual vagaries of weather. I’ve been thinking of something more metaphysical, though. Folk talk of the impenetrable mists of time: if we look back far enough, there’s so much that cannot be known due to the obscuring clouds of time passed by. We look for clues to understand how things were: what was written, what stories remain, what can be dug from the earth and examined? This is haze at the archaeological level.
What of the present, and of the living? These swirling mists boil within each of us, do they not? Who can honestly claim to remember what their life was like as a newborn baby, or as an infant first learning to sit and crawl, babble and laugh?
More recent events cast a lighter haze for me, this one not entirely opaque. What was life really like, exactly, before a tiny virus swept the world and changed so much about how we live our lives and interact with our fellow man? In a funny sort of way, it feels like time began in March 2020. At least, a new era did. I recall strange TV announcements, as well as odd new terminology like ‘coronavirus’ and ‘social distancing’. Then came an early summer heatwave and hours spent toiling happily in the garden and allotment; there was a touch of neglecting the day job, I must admit.
But what of the time before? I recall a grand day out at Fife’s Whisky Festival with a pall hanging over events; COVID-19 and whisky were the only things on people’s lips. Beyond that, little springs to mind.
And then I experienced a similar phenomenon all over again when, in summer 2022, my little boy arrived in the world, several weeks earlier than scheduled. Now, many months in, it truly is hard to recall how life was before that day. I will say I think it involved more dramming...
If you’ve stuck with my ramblings this far, I thank you. You may well be wondering when I’m going to take a turn whisky-wards. Now seems an appropriate moment.
Obviously I’m not suffering complete amnesia regarding all the events that have constituted the majority of my life. When I think back to some of my best whisky days, one in particular sits high in the rankings — a day very much of the happy pink haze. A handful of pals convened at Deanston distillery to enjoy a leisurely and highly informative tour, sample some excellent single casks, and while away many an hour into the evening in the fine pubs of Doune and Stirling.
Through the mist of time passed and — not to put too fine a point on it — many excellent drams and ales consumed that day, one memory stands out in sharp relief. The whisky highlight was a particularly fine Deanston, a fino cask of certified organic spirit filled way back in 2001. It was also the only one not available to purchase and take home on the day. Isn’t that so often how it goes?
I had cause to think back on this dram when a very generous sample was shared with me by a kind friend. It was from the most recent organic release from Deanston’s stable, a 2000 vintage bottled at 21 years of age and 50.9 % ABV. It rested in ex-bourbon casks before secondary maturation in fino casks. No other type of sherry is mentioned by name, but the rich, dark colour suggests some more deeply hued sherries being involved here too. How will it compare to the whisky of my slightly hazy memory?
Review
Deanston Organic Highland Single Malt 21yo 2000 Vintage, 50.9% ABV
£180, still available
Nose
Lovely roasted cereal notes with hints of Weetabix and sweetness of barley sugar. Cacao nibs and fruitiness – it reminds me of what you get with really good quality dark chocolate, that beautiful integration of the ‘chocolatey’ part with the sharp fruity notes of the raw bean itself. The fruit is slightly sour, akin to redcurrants or perhaps plums. I seek a second opinion from my better half (who has the superior and more refined palate) and she proposes a well-fruited tea loaf, icing sugar sweetness, and a wee hint of astringent angelica. Nice.
Palate
A lovely balance of the sharp and the sweet, with the fruit notes from the nose. A little spicy but never excessive — chillies and chocolate. Some black pepper comes in mid-palate with the cereal aspect. The finish is relatively long and perhaps my favourite part; it settles on soft cereals with just the right balance of sweetness and spice.
The Dregs
This is a thoroughly decent drop, in my opinion. I’m not sure it quite hits the highs of that fino cask, but I can’t put too much faith in that judgement and neither should you. Whisky tasted in the environs of a distillery is inevitably elevated: add in the fine company in which it was enjoyed, and your fighting a losing battle vis-à-vis objectivity.
I’m reasonably familiar with Deanston from ex-bourbon casks, the 12 and 18yos in particular, both of which are excellent. This is a different beast, both in terms of the cask makeup and the use of organic barley. Regarding the latter, I found the cereal aspect of this to be a highlight; but I find that to be a strength of ‘regular’ expressions of Deanston too. I’ve enjoyed this Organic vintage very much through a number of pours over several evenings. Having said that, I don’t think I’ll be sourcing a full bottle for myself. The price is probably fair given the age and presumably lower yield from organic barley, but it’s a little rich for me.
Nonetheless, it is worthy of your attention and at least a dram, if you get the chance.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. EMc