NAS Official Bottling | 46.3% ABV

Oak, can’t live with it, can’t live without it

I’ve been keen on Deanston for a few years now, with the 18 year old a particular favourite of mine, to the point where I have been taking advantage of the outstanding prices we can get it for here in the UK, and picking up multiple bottles at less than £60 on occasion.

I’m confident saying it’s the one whisky I’ve purchased more than any other. The 12 year old is another I have plenty of time for but I must admit I’ve always shied away from the non-age stated Virgin Oak.

My thought process for not purchasing hasn’t been to do with the lack of age statement, but more to do with other virgin oak whiskies I’ve tried, which can come across a little like bourbon, for obvious reasons. One that comes to mind from a recent tasting was an Alistair Walker Infrequent Flyers Benriach, which was finished in virgin oak and didn’t really work for me.

Forgive me bourbon lovers, but it’s just not a drink I’ve taken to up until now. I find them a bit too woody and spicy for my personal preference. They have a woodiness that to me has similarities to when you have an ice lolly in the summer, and in trying to get the last of the ice cream off, you end up sucking on the lolly stick itself and get that overly woody and drying flavour. This can occasionally happen with whiskies that aren’t matured in virgin oak, where the influence of the oak has gone from a nice addition to the flavour profile, to a much stronger woodiness and astringency that doesn’t play well for me. Oak is vital to the maturation of whisky and it’s the only wood type we can use for Scotch whisky, but I don’t want it to taste like I’m chewing on a piece of two-by-four.

As much as I’ve tried to get into bourbon from the limited selection we get on these shores, I’ve never found one I thought was better than just okay. Drinkable, but I’d rather have something else if it’s available. Wild Turkey 101, Rare Breed, Eagle Rare 10 and Maker’s Mark 46 all sit on my shelf, but have all been open for some time and are rarely reached for. Maybe if we had more choice in the UK at reasonable prices I could develop a keener interest, but we don’t, and I am happy with all the options scotch can offer me. Then again, if I don’t like the more subtle virgin oak matured scotches, then maybe bourbon will never be for me.

There might be certain aromas and flavours that don’t sit well with you when you find them in a whisky. Others will love them, but for you personally they don’t work. Peated whisky or whiskies with a sulphuric nature are some of the most common that can divide a room, but perhaps you don’t like sweet, floral, or salty whiskies. Let me know in the comments if there’s something you don’t like to find in your glass. We’re all different, and that’s absolutely fine.

I had no plans to change my decision of looking past Deanston Virgin Oak until I happened to be looking for a podcast to listen to for my Sunday morning long run. Competitive running has been a part of my life for a number of years and the weekly long run is an essential, but at times a tedious, necessity. Finding an interesting podcast that can while away those couple of hours makes it much more enjoyable.

While conducting a search, I stumbled upon the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Whisky Talk podcast, and one which was recorded at a tasting with Brendan McCarron, the master distiller for Distell’s Bunnahabhain, Tobermory and Deanston distilleries. During this podcast, one of the interesting things he said was that the virgin oak was his personal favourite Deanston. He talked about the waxiness of the Deanston spirit, which is one of the things I love most about the 18yo. He mentioned how they haven’t overdone the virgin oak, with only a six month to one year finish in that type of cask, and that since he started, he’s been using older stocks with a heavier char for the casks.

It made me think that perhaps this is a virgin oak matured whisky I could get behind. It’s only a short finish after an initial maturation in first-fill and refill bourbon casks, so could be much less oaked than the ones I’ve tasted previously. Before I’d finished my run, I’d decided I was going to get a bottle, so you could say the sales pitch certainly worked on me.

Another interesting bit of information from the podcast was Brendan explaining how he had changed things at Tobermory. When he joined the company, they’d been making a 50/50 split between unpeated Tobermory and heavily peated Ledaig, but he’s significantly changed production to 80-90% in favour of Ledaig. I found that quite a remarkable change but because I love Ledaig more than Tobermory, a change I’m happy to hear about. Tobermory works better at older ages, whereas Ledaig can be fantastic in its youth, so from a financial point of view I can see why it would make sense to change those ratios in favour of the heavy hitting peater.

Review

Deanston Virgin Oak, 46.3% ABV
£34 paid widely available

RBack to Deanston. As mentioned, I opened this bottle with quite a bit of trepidation that I might still find it too bourbon-like, but very much hoping that wouldn’t be the case. At £33.99 a bottle, it was a risk worth taking. It’s bottled at Distell’s preferred ABV of 46.3%, with no chill filtration and I believe natural colour, but please start putting it on the label Distell. The bottle being reviewed has a long bottle code: 2419156L5101322264.

Nose

Lots of bright, sweet, pithy orange and orange oil, with a touch of the Deanston waxiness I describe as similar to plain candle wax. If you have tried the 18 I find it much more overt in that expression than it is here. There is plentiful honey and abundant vanilla, along with a hint of liquorice and clove. There are definite bourbon vibes, with the woody spice notes and applewood, but overall the new oak is in check and it's a really nice start.

Palate

The wax is still there, as is the orange and honey, with a little lime sourness. Then comes the arrival of the charred oak and peppery spice, with a bitterness that begins to take over the initial sweetness from the orange and honey, and introduces liquorice and high cocoa dark chocolate along with that oak flavour. This all continues into the drying finish, but after a short while the bitterness becomes a little less prominent as a vanilla creaminess creeps in. We’re then reunited with some of the orange, apple peel, hazelnut and lingering spice prickling on the palate and lips.

The Dregs

Plentiful orange and honey with a little waxiness and plenty of oak and spice would sum this dram up for me. It’s fairly straightforward but full of flavour and as much as I do find aspects of it I like, my personal preference as somebody who doesn’t get on with virgin oak, it’s not one I am fond of when it comes to the palate. On the plus side, it does bring in some nice dark chocolate and liquorice notes with it.

I’ve mentioned bourbon a lot here, and this isn’t like drinking that particular whiskey from our American friends with its completely different mash bill. If you try it alongside one like I’ve done, you’ll see how different they are. However, it does share a little of the wood-driven characteristics I don’t get on with so well. Other people who enjoy their virgin oak scotches and bourbons would enjoy this much more than I do.

We’re all different and it simply isn’t my preferred style, but I do recognise signs of decent quality whisky, particularly taking into account the price. That’s the thing about us reviewers, we are only one person with different noses, palates and preferences. I’d always recommend getting a broader view and searching for opinions from others before making a decision to part with any money if you are able. Wally chimes in with his take on things below too. Also Whiskybase, for example, works well with this type of readily available whisky and has lots of written reviews from other drinkers.

The Deanston Kentucky Cask, which is bottled at 40% ABV, was disappointing compared to the rest of the range. I don’t know if the bright red label and prominent use of the word ‘Kentucky’ was intended to persuade consumers who usually buy bourbon to try their whisky, but for a similar price they’d be much better off buying the virgin oak because the difference in quality and flavour is vast.

As for me, as long as prices and quality remain as good as they are, I’ll continue to buy the 12 and 18yo from Deanston, with the latter being a frequent purchase I’d happily have a shelf full of – I’m already part way there. I wouldn’t want to put anybody off buying the virgin oak, just as long as you like the flavour profile that type of cask brings to the whisky.

Score: 5/10

Wally’s Review

Deanston Virgin Oak, 46.3% ABV
£34 paid widely available

This one’s pretty timely and I’m happy to pitch in.

My kids are regularly forcibly employed to go and mine the whisky wall for a dram for dad. They can pick anything they like as long as it’s open. They digest the label then have me guess.

I am always right that one time in 2020.

I absolutely love this practice, whether I guess closely or not, and I’ve rediscovered multiple enjoyable whiskies I’d just forgotten; things like an indie Glen Ord, Dingle and the famously misspelled Wemyss Untold Riches Bunnahabain [sic] 28yo. I have also come a cropper from my laziness, like a particularly over-filled dram of Daftmill; the last on hand. Easy come…

Anyway, you see where I’m headed; I was recently presented with a dram of Deanston Virgin Oak and enjoyed it immensely. I will, at this point, admit to not even guessing the correct continent, settling for an American single malt. Blind, I found a slight acetone and marker pen note that I find only when deliberately searching for it tonight. Whisky likes to play with us.

If you like the way this sweet, big and rich whisky sounds - look out for the cask strength version which brings a 55% ABV playfulness to things.

Nose

Sweet roasted nuts, orange oils, figs in syrup, overripe satsumas and sticky toffee sauce. Oaky taint, a little acetone and milk chocolate.

Palate

Sweet citrus and syrup continue - think tinned fruit syrup and a little nutty maple. There’s a bitter edge too and a whiff of cinnamon and ground almonds. The nutty thing I’ve never been aware of before but it’s here tonight as it was for my blind pour. There’s a prunes-in-syrup vibe that fades to red liquorice and chocolate. This sounds complex but the overall feeling, while quite thick and rich, is much simpler.

The Dregs

Poured blind, I’d wager no one would expose this as a £34 whisky. It’s a cracker for that price. It’s young but it hides its youth way better than most, which makes sense when you read the cask-led tasting notes; those virgin casks are doing their thing. This is both the strength and the weakness of this whisky; those oaky notes need to be your thing too, as Ramsay has pointed out above. For me, in the right mood, they certainly can be.

Let’s look at this another way. If any one of the current or imminent wave of shiny new distilleries stepped forward with a 5yo or 7yo, say, and it tasted like this, I think we’d go nuts for it. If it was £34 we’d be confused.

Maybe we should be grateful that whisky of this much enjoyment can exist for this price in today’s whisky fervour. The fact it’s natural and widely available brings an attractive wee package few can pull off.

Score: 6/10 WMc

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HF

Other opinions on this:

Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.