A wee story you might be interested in, Ralfy, since you're very much against adding colour to whisky. In December last year I was on the Whisky Exchange web site and happened to notice that the info given about Ardbeg and Deanston, to name only two, was that they added colour. I believed this not to be true and wrote to the the distilleries who wrote back confirming that the info given by Whisky Exchange was wrong and that they'd be asking them to change the details on the website. Deanston thanked me by sending me a bottle of the 18 year old. When I wrote to Ardbeg to advise them of Deanston's generosity, they wrote back saying, 'Nice try.'
Deanston is great example where new owner takes over and does things right by listening to what customers actually want. Angel's share is a cracking film, the earlier distillery scene was Deanston inside and Glengoyne outside. Balblair was the other distillery later on for the auction.
Wonderful review and analysis. I appreciate your ability to articulate the worth of a subtle malt such as Deanston. Often, single malts, that travel outside of mainstream flavor expectations or rutted prejudices, can be over looked and underappreciated it seems. Bunnahabhain, due to it's location among traditionally peat heavy examples, suffers from this with some enthusiasts. All the better in my opinion, as it, like Deanston's offerings, are among some of my favorites, and in this case especially, offer a return on investment that is "off the charts." Thanks for the time and effort you put into this Ralfy. For what its worth, a video featuring some of your favorite malts that are exceptional examples of "bang for the buck" would be really enjoyed. -J
Did a bottle share with some friends of this one and the serry matured 20yo when they came out. Despite everything I thought I knew about my preferences I preferred this one by quite a lot. Just a really lovely dram.
I had the distinct pleasure of taking a wrong turn whilst touring Scotland a few years ago and finding myself at Deanston just in time for a tour! It turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip. I even got to hand fill a bottle from a cask in the gift shop. One correction, though, to what Ralfy said: Deanston began its life as a cotton mill, not a grain mill.
So glad you like this. Definitely not in the mainstream and all the better for it.Struggling a bit with Bunnahabhain 18 YO - I reckon the bottle needs quite a bit of oxidation and I have decanted it and it has improved slightly.
The quiet malt moment is such an important aspect of whisky appreciation. Living rat-race lives in this 21st century makes us overlook the quality that does not shout but whispers. Thanks Ralfy for reminding us of the importance of the quiet malts.
hugo mocc I'm challenging myself this next bottle... something more understated, as I need to work on developing my awareness of minute flavors and aromas. possibly Deanston 12 or Tobermory 10... can't decide which one... Slainte friend
Ralfy, Im an enormous fan of this whisky. It is sadly overlooked, but I believe it will get there. Been to the distillery,and loved the old fashioned feel of it. It's an honest whisky ! I'm hooked. Recommend to every maltmate to try it. The 12 is fabulous also. Savour the complexity, old fashioned impact a good whisky should give you.....
I love the 12 too. All the "young" Burn Stewart single malts are really nice, unfortunately the older ones are a little too pricey for me, but 12 years work well enough :D
Hi ironbooze. The 12 definitely works for me also. I was so impressed when I first tasted the 12, I visited the distillery and was amazed at how old fashioned it was. It certainly is passed on to the whisky . A good honest ,old fashioned treat of a dram. 🥃👍.
John Mcgowan I love that Deanston, Bunnahabhain and Tobermory/Ledaig are all stepped up versions of single malt Scotch available on the market. definitely the direction I hope the whole industry goes in (ahem, Diageo).
Bang on Todd. It is the only way for those of us who want quality, honesty with our drams. I have all the whiskies you have mentioned, all are fabulous. I will only buy E150 free whiskies.
Just got one for 63quid on amazon. When you think about the price of some 15 year olds now, this by any standard is a decent buy. Tastes as described by Ralfy too. Very nice.
One other thing, and i know this will make some malt mates scream, but its smooth.... i mean by that absolutely no indication of sharp alcohol. Completely integrated into the experience. Well done Deanston. Sorry for the "smooth" malt mates.
Wonderful advice regarding enjoyment of whisky. The consumer shares responsibility for understanding the drink. I've seen people take a "swig" of whisky and make immediate judgment. I think they are missing out. It is similar to people listening to a 10-second clip of a song and saying "I don't like that." They are often missing out.
Hey Ralfy! Thanks for these reviews and vlogs! Certainly a relaxing way to end the night after a hard day at work with a wee dram to sip on! Keep on rockin!
Great review and a nice comparison at the end. I really like these quiet, underestimated malts. It's a very introverted experience which fits myself quite well. It's a shame they tend to be overlooked. But as always, it's the loud ones that are heard. ;-)
Thanks ralphy, i certainly overlooked the 12 while doing the 2nd ed of the bux 101- was clearly rushing it, only had a single measure, will have to give a bottle a go on the slow, love a lowland so this merits an effort, the value of a malty mentor!
The way you talked about this malt, I would love to see a re-review of Dalwhinnie 15. I feel that it's a very pleasant dram and a welcome break from Ardbeg or other, stronger ones, but it's pretty fragile, and not everyone online feels so positively.
a score of ** thats a great score for you to give Ralfy. This might be the step up to older whisky for me to try then. Good strength on it too which i love.
In the US they had a limited release of Deanston 18, finished in Cognac for 6 years. Smooth, light with hints of Cognac. $150, so pricey. Not sure if it will be a "collectible" expression since the Deanston label not as well known. Makes for a nice desert whisky.
MontalbanJR Yes, I noticed prices were lower in Scotland when I was there in January. I've had a bottle shipped for about $24. Where do you usually order from? Unfortunately, Deanston 18 yo Cognac finish only sold to U.S. market.
MontalbanJR Thanks, I see the WEx pop up a lot. It seemed like you had to ship more than one bottle to come out ahead. Also, the higher priced malts had more markup in US. Sláinte
I have a bottle of this 18 Year Old Bourbon Finish. My impression was very different to Ralfy's I found this whisky had very strong flavour notes and nothing subtle about this at all. Less a grain barley and much more like a roasted sweet corn note. A sour mash, tin corn creaminess on the nose. Loads of white fudge, American white oak wood rubbery sap juice and tons and tons of dry maple syrup. It is a very tasty whisky but the problem is that it tastes too much like a straight bourbon and has very little if any Scotch malted barley character to it. In a blind taste, I suspect that many would mistake this as a Straight Bourbon and wouldn't even think it came from Scotland. That is what marks it down for me. The bourbon finish is so dominant that it smothers all the Malted Barley Scotch whisky character. Try comparing this to a Glencadam 18, a BenRiach or Dalwhinnie 15. All 100% Ex-Bourbon cask matured but there is no mistaking these Scotch single malts for Kentucky Straight bourbons. No Sir-ee!
Hello, Ralfy. Do you know how this Deanston 18 yo compares to Deanston 15 yo ‘Organic’ 46.3%, 2017? Whiskyfun Serge is giving the organic one 87 points. I'm asking some German friends to bring some whisky to Mexico -bottles that we never see here-, and I'm trying to decide...
Ralphy, you mentioned virgin oak casks used for Deanston, but it is my understanding that Scotch has to be aged in used casks, so there should be no such thing as a "virgin cask" and they are required by regulations to have held some kind of hootch in them before the whisky has been introduced. Is my understanding incorrect?
hsllo ralfy does opening up a whisky dram for 3 4hours effect the flavour negatively in 40degrees temperati ure?is the same true for peaty whiskies??or intense peat can be enjoyed in first 10minutes only?
Hi there malt mate! I'm planning to build myself a small whisky collection, but being kinda new to the whole whisky world I'm a bit overhwelmed by the plethera of brands and vintages out there. I thought i'd concentrate on one region at a time, namely the Islay whiskies first, since I'm quite fond of especially the Bowmore distillery. Do you have any thoughts on my approach, do you think it's clever, or should I plan my collection based on other parameters from the start? I know it's about personal prefrenses, but I could use a pointing finger to get me started in the most satisfactory way...
Ralfy, please could you make an update video on collecting whisky and investments as well as how to buy and sell at auctions?I have recently started putting bottles away because I see how much they have gone up in value. Are the Islay festival bottlings like Feis Ile and Ardbeg Day bottlings worth collecting? Could you give us some guidelines?
. . . I recommend caution, more fakes are appearing and professional speculators are over-loading the values. Only buy what you would drink if it fails to sell in the future. Look at what happened to wine to see what's happening to whisky.
I hear what you are saying but I'm not talking about the £500+ bottles. I'm talking about investing in £100 to £200 bottles today which I hope will be worth £500+ in a few years. Examples being Scapa 14, Scapa 16, Caol Ila 25, Caol Ila Feis Ile, BenRiach Single Cask editions....Balblair vintages from 1980s-90s.... I would think that these are not yet expensive enough to bother taking an empty bottle and faking the seal but a good enough bet to collect. Case in point. If you look in the Auction sites, the Scapa 14 was going for around £45 a couple of years ago, last year it was around £80 and now around £150+.
Would you do a review on a mid-aged Auchentoshan? 15-18yrs? I just bought an independent bottling of a 17 year old that I'd like some comparative thoughts on!
Hi Ralfy, have you ever reviewed the Mortlach 18? I purchased it for my university graduation as a treat to myself having heard only good things. Would love to hear what a more experienced whiskey drinker thinks!?
Ralphy- what do you do with all your half bottles, ever thought of producing a ralphy blend, perhaps a living ralphy rundlet, i would be up for a bottle
had this whiskey one night in poland!! i had too much and it led to sombody getting glassed and his girlfriend and her friend ended up at my hotel!! but i was bleeding on my arm and must go on hospital and when i was back they finished my mini bar and goed away!! but i had good single malt in my bag so was ok!! was in poland to opose on free mason mind manipulation confrence in the area!!
A wee story you might be interested in, Ralfy, since you're very much against adding
colour to whisky. In December last year I was on the Whisky Exchange web site and happened to notice that the info given about Ardbeg and Deanston, to name only two, was that they added colour. I believed this not to be true and wrote to the the distilleries who wrote back confirming that the info given by Whisky Exchange was wrong and that they'd be asking them to change the details on the website. Deanston thanked me by sending me a bottle of the 18 year old. When I wrote to Ardbeg to advise them of Deanston's generosity, they wrote back saying, 'Nice try.'
Brilliant 😂
OK... I poured a 50ml dram, added 3/4 of a teaspoon of water, and walked away for half an hour... Now I get it. Thank you!
Deanston is great example where new owner takes over and does things right by listening to what customers actually want.
Angel's share is a cracking film, the earlier distillery scene was Deanston inside and Glengoyne outside. Balblair was the other distillery later on for the auction.
It's not often that Ralfy empties a glass when reviewing. That says it all.
Wonderful review and analysis. I appreciate your ability to articulate the worth of a subtle malt such as Deanston. Often, single malts, that travel outside of mainstream flavor expectations or rutted prejudices, can be over looked and underappreciated it seems. Bunnahabhain, due to it's location among traditionally peat heavy examples, suffers from this with some enthusiasts. All the better in my opinion, as it, like Deanston's offerings, are among some of my favorites, and in this case especially, offer a return on investment that is "off the charts." Thanks for the time and effort you put into this Ralfy. For what its worth, a video featuring some of your favorite malts that are exceptional examples of "bang for the buck" would be really enjoyed. -J
Did a bottle share with some friends of this one and the serry matured 20yo when they came out. Despite everything I thought I knew about my preferences I preferred this one by quite a lot. Just a really lovely dram.
I had the distinct pleasure of taking a wrong turn whilst touring Scotland a few years ago and finding myself at Deanston just in time for a tour! It turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip. I even got to hand fill a bottle from a cask in the gift shop. One correction, though, to what Ralfy said: Deanston began its life as a cotton mill, not a grain mill.
So glad you like this. Definitely not in the mainstream and all the better for it.Struggling a bit with Bunnahabhain 18 YO - I reckon the bottle needs quite a bit of oxidation and I have decanted it and it has improved slightly.
Thanks Ralfy... you put us on to the 12 year old some time back and I thought it was great... just as you described.
this dram of Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength batch 7 and your wonderful review literally is my chill out relaxing on my own personal time.
The quiet malt moment is such an important aspect of whisky appreciation. Living rat-race lives in this 21st century makes us overlook the quality that does not shout but whispers. Thanks Ralfy for reminding us of the importance of the quiet malts.
hugo mocc I'm challenging myself this next bottle... something more understated, as I need to work on developing my awareness of minute flavors and aromas. possibly Deanston 12 or Tobermory 10... can't decide which one... Slainte friend
Ralfy, Im an enormous fan of this whisky. It is sadly overlooked, but I believe it will get there. Been to the distillery,and loved the old fashioned feel of it. It's an honest whisky ! I'm hooked. Recommend to every maltmate to try it. The 12 is fabulous also. Savour the complexity, old fashioned impact a good whisky should give you.....
I love the 12 too. All the "young" Burn Stewart single malts are really nice, unfortunately the older ones are a little too pricey for me, but 12 years work well enough :D
Hi ironbooze. The 12 definitely works for me also. I was so impressed when I first tasted the 12, I visited the distillery and was amazed at how old fashioned it was. It certainly is passed on to the whisky . A good honest ,old fashioned treat of a dram. 🥃👍.
John Mcgowan I love that Deanston, Bunnahabhain and Tobermory/Ledaig are all stepped up versions of single malt Scotch available on the market. definitely the direction I hope the whole industry goes in (ahem, Diageo).
Bang on Todd. It is the only way for those of us who want quality, honesty with our drams. I have all the whiskies you have mentioned, all are fabulous. I will only buy E150 free whiskies.
The distillery is a really good visit and the 15 y o organic is wonderful
awesome job Ralfy as always
Angel's Share was a great movie with a good heart. Gave a look into the industry, with some poetic license. Gasped when they lost their bottle.
Beautiful dram this. Two teaspoons of water is perfect for me. I'd describe it as a grown-up Dalwhinnie 15. Worth every penny I paid for it (£60).
Just got one for 63quid on amazon. When you think about the price of some 15 year olds now, this by any standard is a decent buy. Tastes as described by Ralfy too. Very nice.
One other thing, and i know this will make some malt mates scream, but its smooth.... i mean by that absolutely no indication of sharp alcohol. Completely integrated into the experience. Well done Deanston. Sorry for the "smooth" malt mates.
Wonderful advice regarding enjoyment of whisky. The consumer shares responsibility for understanding the drink. I've seen people take a "swig" of whisky and make immediate judgment. I think they are missing out. It is similar to people listening to a 10-second clip of a song and saying "I don't like that." They are often missing out.
Hey Ralfy! Thanks for these reviews and vlogs! Certainly a relaxing way to end the night after a hard day at work with a wee dram to sip on! Keep on rockin!
Thanks Ralfy.....i swear my yogurt tastes even better as i am watching this review....
Great review and a nice comparison at the end. I really like these quiet, underestimated malts. It's a very introverted experience which fits myself quite well. It's a shame they tend to be overlooked. But as always, it's the loud ones that are heard. ;-)
Thanks ralphy, i certainly overlooked the 12 while doing the 2nd ed of the bux 101- was clearly rushing it, only had a single measure, will have to give a bottle a go on the slow, love a lowland so this merits an effort, the value of a malty mentor!
You completely got me with the 90 rating. I was guessing 85, at most, by the way you were describing it. I'll have to try this.
I was at a wedding not so far away from the wedding - such beautiful scenery!
The way you talked about this malt, I would love to see a re-review of Dalwhinnie 15. I feel that it's a very pleasant dram and a welcome break from Ardbeg or other, stronger ones, but it's pretty fragile, and not everyone online feels so positively.
Thanks for the great review again I've had the 18 but I find the 20 more to my taste... I'd love a bottle of the 10 pedro but I missed out ....
I just tasted Virgin Oak and it's incredible.
bunnahabhain 18 for next review? i was enjoying a glass of their 12 with this review😀
I just bought the 9 year old cask strength Bordeaux wine barrel aged. Can't wait to crack it open.
Seen this Whisky around, but to be honest I have never sampled any Deanston whiskies, I will put it on my to try list.
a score of ** thats a great score for you to give Ralfy. This might be the step up to older whisky for me to try then. Good strength on it too which i love.
Michael Lynch aww man. this is what happens when I read comments instead of just listen to Ralfy! the surprise was spoiled
sorry Todd i never gave a thought to my fellow malt mates. will be more carefull next time.
edited score out 👍
In the US they had a limited release of Deanston 18, finished in Cognac for 6 years. Smooth, light with hints of Cognac. $150, so pricey. Not sure if it will be a "collectible" expression since the Deanston label not as well known. Makes for a nice desert whisky.
MontalbanJR Yes, I noticed prices were lower in Scotland when I was there in January. I've had a bottle shipped for about $24. Where do you usually order from? Unfortunately, Deanston 18 yo Cognac finish only sold to U.S. market.
MontalbanJR Thanks, I see the WEx pop up a lot. It seemed like you had to ship more than one bottle to come out ahead. Also, the higher priced malts had more markup in US. Sláinte
I have a bottle of this 18 Year Old Bourbon Finish. My impression was very different to Ralfy's I found this whisky had very strong flavour notes and nothing subtle about this at all. Less a grain barley and much more like a roasted sweet corn note. A sour mash, tin corn creaminess on the nose. Loads of white fudge, American white oak wood rubbery sap juice and tons and tons of dry maple syrup. It is a very tasty whisky but the problem is that it tastes too much like a straight bourbon and has very little if any Scotch malted barley character to it. In a blind taste, I suspect that many would mistake this as a Straight Bourbon and wouldn't even think it came from Scotland. That is what marks it down for me. The bourbon finish is so dominant that it smothers all the Malted Barley Scotch whisky character.
Try comparing this to a Glencadam 18, a BenRiach or Dalwhinnie 15. All 100% Ex-Bourbon cask matured but there is no mistaking these Scotch single malts for Kentucky Straight bourbons. No Sir-ee!
Hello, Ralfy. Do you know how this Deanston 18 yo compares to Deanston 15 yo ‘Organic’ 46.3%, 2017? Whiskyfun Serge is giving the organic one 87 points. I'm asking some German friends to bring some whisky to Mexico -bottles that we never see here-, and I'm trying to decide...
. . . very good stuff happening at Deanston, I am about to re--review the 12yo with is the best version yet !
im so in the malt zone Ralfy! thanks :)
I'm guessing bunnahabhain 18 next..
. . . good guess !
Ahhh, we'll see how and whether we agree. I enjoyed comparing the 18 and the 12 last summer. ;^)
Ralphy, you mentioned virgin oak casks used for Deanston, but it is my understanding that Scotch has to be aged in used casks, so there should be no such thing as a "virgin cask" and they are required by regulations to have held some kind of hootch in them before the whisky has been introduced. Is my understanding incorrect?
. . . there is, fresh-made casks can mature scotch !
Thank you for a good review. Do you know if this differ much from the 2019/2020 release? The one with the more white lable?
Hey Ralfy, something for your radar to consider. West Cork 10 yo single malt. A new Irish. Would love to hear your thoughts
. . . I will look out for it !
hsllo ralfy
does opening up a whisky dram for 3 4hours effect the flavour negatively in 40degrees temperati
ure?is the same true for peaty whiskies??or intense peat can be enjoyed in first 10minutes only?
Glen Garioch. The silent ninja of single malts. Bitter, sour complexities only understood by those who understand.
mollyoko nice to see some Glen Garioch appreciation!
Hi there malt mate! I'm planning to build myself a small whisky collection, but being kinda new to the whole whisky world I'm a bit overhwelmed by the plethera of brands and vintages out there. I thought i'd concentrate on one region at a time, namely the Islay whiskies first, since I'm quite fond of especially the Bowmore distillery. Do you have any thoughts on my approach, do you think it's clever, or should I plan my collection based on other parameters from the start? I know it's about personal prefrenses, but I could use a pointing finger to get me started in the most satisfactory way...
. . . have a mixed collection which suits your tastes, look out for unusual official bottlings and include some rums, good luck.
2 thirds the price of Highland Park 18 as well.
So, just as a hint. Does it start with B and end in unnahabhain? I just bought an 18 year bottle of this malt and looking forward to your take on it.
. . . possibly !
Ralfy, you're such a cool nice gentleman ! Would love to have a dram with you one day!
Ralfy, please could you make an update video on collecting whisky and investments as well as how to buy and sell at auctions?I have recently started putting bottles away because I see how much they have gone up in value. Are the Islay festival bottlings like Feis Ile and Ardbeg Day bottlings worth collecting? Could you give us some guidelines?
. . . I recommend caution, more fakes are appearing and professional speculators are over-loading the values. Only buy what you would drink if it fails to sell in the future. Look at what happened to wine to see what's happening to whisky.
I hear what you are saying but I'm not talking about the £500+ bottles. I'm talking about investing in £100 to £200 bottles today which I hope will be worth £500+ in a few years. Examples being Scapa 14, Scapa 16, Caol Ila 25, Caol Ila Feis Ile, BenRiach Single Cask editions....Balblair vintages from 1980s-90s....
I would think that these are not yet expensive enough to bother taking an empty bottle and faking the seal but a good enough bet to collect.
Case in point. If you look in the Auction sites, the Scapa 14 was going for around £45 a couple of years ago, last year it was around £80 and now around £150+.
Ralfy can you please review the Balvenie 17 year old doublewood and the 21 year old
. . . it's on the List !
Would you do a review on a mid-aged Auchentoshan? 15-18yrs? I just bought an independent bottling of a 17 year old that I'd like some comparative thoughts on!
. . . mid-aged, I think Indi's are a better option than official bottlings, which are over processed.
Hi Ralfy, have you ever reviewed the Mortlach 18? I purchased it for my university graduation as a treat to myself having heard only good things. Would love to hear what a more experienced whiskey drinker thinks!?
it's over priced and bad value for the money...low ABV and I believe chill filtered and artificially coloured
Ralphy- what do you do with all your half bottles, ever thought of producing a ralphy blend, perhaps a living ralphy rundlet, i would be up for a bottle
The Ralfy solera bottle already exists.
Yep got one in the post arrives tomorrow
140$ where i live which is a lot of money, after a Benromach 15, can't point about the complexity of this one
Schönes Video ;-)
had this whiskey one night in poland!! i had too much and it led to sombody getting glassed and his girlfriend and her friend ended up at my hotel!! but i was bleeding on my arm and must go on hospital and when i was back they finished my mini bar and goed away!! but i had good single malt in my bag so was ok!! was in poland to opose on free mason mind manipulation confrence in the area!!
. . . a memorable night !
louisjany It looks like your opposing against mind manipulation didn't deliver, quite a opposite 😁
Can one be a Matriculated Merry-maker?
. . . yes ! your M-mention is now on the M-mention List !
🥃❤️👍
78th!
I guess, 9th. Dang. Some day...someday.
Last
Jurgen Koole jammer joh.!😜
Ja
:)
first
.
. . . Verified as First !
.