You beat me to it by one day for a Deanston 18 review. I knew you was the better Geoff. Great review as one of the best priced 18 age statements. Cheers
I was definitely positive surprised by Deanston 18. Really nice combination of flavors. Gave one as a gift to a colleague with engraving and he also absolutely loves it.
For me the 18 yr requires a lot of patience to unlock its secrets. I didn't like my first few drams, but then I spent more time carefully adding water and letting it open up. It takes me 1-2 hours to get to that sweet spot where you can unlock some of that original spirit character and also bring out those fascinating sour and bitter flavors. It almost behaves like a Lowland whisky in my opinion. I recently had the 12 yr, 18 yr and an IB 25 yr all side by and that was a lot of fun...the 25 yr requiring even more patience than the 18 yr. But I still love the 12 yr for a general sipper, and one that doesn't require so much work to enjoy - the 18 is a whole other ball game.
Good point. It took me about 1/3 of the bottle for me to really start to appreciate this stuff. I admit I was a bit unimpressed when I popped it. Definitely one to spend time with. Cheers Nico!
Interesting thoughts as always Geoff. I had a bottle from Autumn 2020 but Ralfys recent review and a score of 90 buckled my resolve to leave it unopened. I'm loving it at the moment, along with Kilchoman Small batch 3 it would be my favourite whisky of the year so far. I can kind of see why the lighter style my not to be to everyone's liking but like others have eluded to this one has layers of complexity that are super interesting. Cheers
I can absolutely see why Ralfy would score this 90 and why others love it. I like it a lot, but it's still not my favourite style, even though I tend to like lighter whiskies these days myself. But I agree it's very layered and interesting!
Hey, Geoff! The 18 yo Deanston is on my buying list. In Bulgaria a bottle of it will part me with roughly 97 euros which is why I haven't bought any yet. This price is more than what I'd have to pay for say Speyburn 18 or AnCnoc 18. So far I have had Deanston 12 and liked it quite a lot, enough to buy a backup bottle actually. Still, IMHO Deanston spirit is by no means easily accessible. I found the 12 yo to be quite hard and heavy and required lots of time and air to open up. Adding water proved to be quite fiddly game as anything more than 2-3 drops washed away all the fruitiness, vanilla and sweetness and brought out abrupt wood bitterness. The patience and fine tuning of added water eventually pays off, but at least for me Deanston is far from "easy sipper" malt. Cheers!
Wow that's a lot. It was about €60 here in Taiwan, and it's much cheaper than AnCnoc and Speyburn 18. Big difference there. Glad to hear you enjoyed the 12. I've had many bottles of it over the years and sadly it's just not one I connect with. I definitely don't hate it, I scored it 85, but I never got excited about it like others seemed to. Matter of taste. Cheers!
Hi Geoff, haven’t opened my bottle of the 18 which I’ve had a while now. The virgin oak I like and the 12 is good and at a decent price. Good in depth review, enjoyed watching it, slàinte Geoff.
Oh I’d like to get this one. Sadly I can’t find it anywhere. The 12 , I wasn’t blown away by but it is solid and unique though. Hoping that I can find the 18 at some point. Btw you’re right. Deanston is a shifty scotch. The 12 was 2 different bottles in one. The second half being way better.
This was my step up in terms of age statement. So, I looked at a lot of 18 year olds. The glowing reviews. Really liking their 12 year old. And then, the price. Only Old Pulteney 18 could compete in terms of price and most definitely did not have the specs. So, I bought two bottles. I have not yet opened one.
Geoff, your face keeps appearing in front of me. I've had a few drams tonight, so I'm not sure if it's on here, or in my dreams (you wish🤣) - I really do hope it's on here! I'm playing catch up now. Great review,, as usual. Cheers bud.
For me Deanston is a rollercoaster ride. Some bottles are really good like the 18-y and the 2008 Bordeaux cask. My least favorite of the range is actually the 12-y. The 18-y is a big step up and the new bottlings (new labeled) are better than the previous ones. When I recently tried the Deanston 18 (new label) against Glen Moray 18 blind. I preferred the latter on both nose and palate. Ps I think that the 18-y has a finish in 1st fill Bourbon barrels.
The cologne note in Deanston is beautiful and impressive at first, but weirdly if i drink it too often, I would be tired of it easily. Too perfumy I would say. This vid makes me want to try the relabeled 18y, sounds it gets the right balance! Cheers!🥃🥃
I like the 12 over this one. I’ve got through about 4 bottles of the 12 and I’m yet to finish one bottle of 18 which I opened a year ago. I need to try the virgin oak since I love getting good value for money even if it means that sometimes I pick NAS whiskies 😊
The Virgin Oak is solid for the price. I see the appeal to the 12, but personally I've never connected with it the way others do. Just on of those things. Didn't hate it, I scored it 85. Glad to hear you enjoy it, though. I know so many people (who are much smarter and more experienced than me) who adore it. Cheers David!
I have the Deanston Virgin Oak and I like it very much, too! A very straightforward, fresh, young "woody" (oaky-citrusy-vanillay-spicey-halfdry) character (for me). I'd try this one (the 18), it's available but oh Lord it costs 110 USD -ish here, double the price of the 12...
Like the 18. Age comes through, subtly complex decaying oak, fruitier than the 1''2, light but present vanilla where the 1''2 has heavier toffee. Found the finish to be a little short. Don't know if I prefer the 1''2 or the 1''8. All in all about equal for me.
Have to say I love the almost sweet /sour notes you get in this.I have been lucky to have seemed to get a real God bottle that is really disappearing far too quickly
Hello Geoff, Me and my "better Half" like Deanston very much. We tried almost every Bottling we could get our Hands on and our Favorite One turned out to be the 20yo in the old Red Packaging. Thanks for your Thoughts and Opinion about this one.
I don't think I ever tried that one. Sounds interesting. If this 18 is any indication, I seem to like Deanston more with a bit of age to it. I'll keep my eyes peeled for that one. Cheers!
I'm just moving up to trying 18s in my whisky journey. The two i have bought (not tasted yet) to trial are the Ledaig 18 and Deanston 18. Both are well priced and get good reviews. Anything else i should try that is similarly priced?
managed to get it for £36 last year due to an amazon s&s glitch..... mwahahah...so I had to create two other accounts to get 3 🤣 .... I really like this one because of its simplicity in a way / to introduce a "no thrills but very tasty" (it's 18 years old.... ffs Glenfiddich-Glenlivet it should be!) archetypal highland style (bourbon finish only/cereal and barley sugar notes dominant) whisky to people when I sometimes entertain a whisky evening with some friends....but yes it's not special/exceptional
£36 for this is absolutely absurd! Good call picking up 3! Hah! Yeah it's a solid bourbon-matured 18 year old with quality, integrity, and some really nice flavours. Not mind blowing, but nothing to complain about either, especially at that price! 🥃
I'm not that bothered with Deanston. I just find the bottles I've had, the 12 and 18, to be underwhelming. It's not that I don't appreciate the lighter side of whisky because I do. The 18 is good value but I really wouldn't pay more than £70 for a bottle. I'd rather get a Glencadam 13 for less and that has a similar profile (one that I prefer). It's okay but the fact that it's 18 years old doesn't really mean anything when there are lots of younger whiskies I'd rather have.
You beat me to it by one day for a Deanston 18 review. I knew you was the better Geoff. Great review as one of the best priced 18 age statements. Cheers
I was definitely positive surprised by Deanston 18. Really nice combination of flavors. Gave one as a gift to a colleague with engraving and he also absolutely loves it.
For me the 18 yr requires a lot of patience to unlock its secrets. I didn't like my first few drams, but then I spent more time carefully adding water and letting it open up. It takes me 1-2 hours to get to that sweet spot where you can unlock some of that original spirit character and also bring out those fascinating sour and bitter flavors. It almost behaves like a Lowland whisky in my opinion. I recently had the 12 yr, 18 yr and an IB 25 yr all side by and that was a lot of fun...the 25 yr requiring even more patience than the 18 yr. But I still love the 12 yr for a general sipper, and one that doesn't require so much work to enjoy - the 18 is a whole other ball game.
Good point. It took me about 1/3 of the bottle for me to really start to appreciate this stuff. I admit I was a bit unimpressed when I popped it. Definitely one to spend time with. Cheers Nico!
Nice coverage. I had the Deanston 20 a few years back, Oloroso casks. Fabulous but too much sulfur.
Regards,
JB
Interesting thoughts as always Geoff. I had a bottle from Autumn 2020 but Ralfys recent review and a score of 90 buckled my resolve to leave it unopened. I'm loving it at the moment, along with Kilchoman Small batch 3 it would be my favourite whisky of the year so far. I can kind of see why the lighter style my not to be to everyone's liking but like others have eluded to this one has layers of complexity that are super interesting. Cheers
I can absolutely see why Ralfy would score this 90 and why others love it. I like it a lot, but it's still not my favourite style, even though I tend to like lighter whiskies these days myself. But I agree it's very layered and interesting!
Hey, Geoff!
The 18 yo Deanston is on my buying list. In Bulgaria a bottle of it will part me with roughly 97 euros which is why I haven't bought any yet. This price is more than what I'd have to pay for say Speyburn 18 or AnCnoc 18.
So far I have had Deanston 12 and liked it quite a lot, enough to buy a backup bottle actually. Still, IMHO Deanston spirit is by no means easily accessible. I found the 12 yo to be quite hard and heavy and required lots of time and air to open up. Adding water proved to be quite fiddly game as anything more than 2-3 drops washed away all the fruitiness, vanilla and sweetness and brought out abrupt wood bitterness. The patience and fine tuning of added water eventually pays off, but at least for me Deanston is far from "easy sipper" malt.
Cheers!
Wow that's a lot. It was about €60 here in Taiwan, and it's much cheaper than AnCnoc and Speyburn 18. Big difference there. Glad to hear you enjoyed the 12. I've had many bottles of it over the years and sadly it's just not one I connect with. I definitely don't hate it, I scored it 85, but I never got excited about it like others seemed to. Matter of taste. Cheers!
Hi Geoff, haven’t opened my bottle of the 18 which I’ve had a while now. The virgin oak I like and the 12 is good and at a decent price. Good in depth review, enjoyed watching it, slàinte Geoff.
Thanks David. I'm sure you'll enjoy the 18. As far as I'm concerned it's a solid step up from the Virgin Oak and the 12. Cheers my friend!
Oh I’d like to get this one. Sadly I can’t find it anywhere. The 12 , I wasn’t blown away by but it is solid and unique though.
Hoping that I can find the 18 at some point.
Btw you’re right. Deanston is a shifty scotch.
The 12 was 2 different bottles in one. The second half being way better.
Hah that's totally true! Even this bottle of 18 only started getting really good about 1/3-1/2 the way down. Takes time to open up! Cheers Salty!
This was my step up in terms of age statement. So, I looked at a lot of 18 year olds. The glowing reviews. Really liking their 12 year old. And then, the price. Only Old Pulteney 18 could compete in terms of price and most definitely did not have the specs. So, I bought two bottles. I have not yet opened one.
I'm sure you'll enjoy both. I do! 🥃
Geoff, your face keeps appearing in front of me. I've had a few drams tonight, so I'm not sure if it's on here, or in my dreams (you wish🤣) - I really do hope it's on here! I'm playing catch up now. Great review,, as usual. Cheers bud.
For me Deanston is a rollercoaster ride. Some bottles are really good like the 18-y and the 2008 Bordeaux cask. My least favorite of the range is actually the 12-y. The 18-y is a big step up and the new bottlings (new labeled) are better than the previous ones. When I recently tried the Deanston 18 (new label) against Glen Moray 18 blind. I preferred the latter on both nose and palate. Ps I think that the 18-y has a finish in 1st fill Bourbon barrels.
I've yet to try the Moray 18, but it's on the wishlist. I'll likely be grabbing it this month. Very curious to try it!
Great whisky!!❤
I have gone through several bottles of 12 and 18 year old!🙂🥃
It's a beauty!
Great review, really liked the Deanston 18 but probably favour the 12 a little more
That's fair. It seems plenty of people do! 🥃
The cologne note in Deanston is beautiful and impressive at first, but weirdly if i drink it too often, I would be tired of it easily. Too perfumy I would say. This vid makes me want to try the relabeled 18y, sounds it gets the right balance! Cheers!🥃🥃
I know a shop that sells it for NT 1850 (last I checked). It's the shop in 萬華 I told you about. Excellent CP!
That's nice! will be there on late November. Let's have a meet then.
@@dairyyang5457 Sounds great!
I like the 12 over this one. I’ve got through about 4 bottles of the 12 and I’m yet to finish one bottle of 18 which I opened a year ago. I need to try the virgin oak since I love getting good value for money even if it means that sometimes I pick NAS whiskies 😊
The Virgin Oak is solid for the price. I see the appeal to the 12, but personally I've never connected with it the way others do. Just on of those things. Didn't hate it, I scored it 85. Glad to hear you enjoy it, though. I know so many people (who are much smarter and more experienced than me) who adore it. Cheers David!
I have the Deanston Virgin Oak and I like it very much, too! A very straightforward, fresh, young "woody" (oaky-citrusy-vanillay-spicey-halfdry) character (for me). I'd try this one (the 18), it's available but oh Lord it costs 110 USD -ish here, double the price of the 12...
Yeah that's a bit high. I do much prefer it to the 12. It's not mind blowing but really solid.
i always tought the colognesc hint came from the vanilla-florals from ex bourbon casks. cheers
Like the 18. Age comes through, subtly complex decaying oak, fruitier than the 1''2, light but present vanilla where the 1''2 has heavier toffee.
Found the finish to be a little short.
Don't know if I prefer the 1''2 or the 1''8. All in all about equal for me.
Well then with the added factor of value seems the 12 is the clear winner! Wish I connected with the 12 the way so many others do. Cheers Coop!
Have to say I love the almost sweet /sour notes you get in this.I have been lucky to have seemed to get a real God bottle that is really disappearing far too quickly
Yeah I love the sour counterbalance we get here. Nice flavours for sure!
Hello Geoff,
Me and my "better Half" like Deanston very much. We tried almost every Bottling we could get our Hands on and our Favorite One turned out to be the 20yo in the old Red Packaging.
Thanks for your Thoughts and Opinion about this one.
I don't think I ever tried that one. Sounds interesting. If this 18 is any indication, I seem to like Deanston more with a bit of age to it. I'll keep my eyes peeled for that one. Cheers!
We hope you get the Chance to try it.
Greetings from Germany and "Prost"😉
I'm just moving up to trying 18s in my whisky journey. The two i have bought (not tasted yet) to trial are the Ledaig 18 and Deanston 18. Both are well priced and get good reviews. Anything else i should try that is similarly priced?
Plenty to try. Similarly priced? Tough... Ledaig in particular is just incredible bang-for-buck 18.
Good job Geoff , like !
As always, thanks Light! Cheers my friend!
@@Gwhisky Cheers !
I actually prefer the older bottling of the Deanston 18, but the new offering is nice as well.
Fair enough. I'm not sure why but I never really connected with the older one. 🥃
managed to get it for £36 last year due to an amazon s&s glitch..... mwahahah...so I had to create two other accounts to get 3 🤣 .... I really like this one because of its simplicity in a way / to introduce a "no thrills but very tasty" (it's 18 years old.... ffs Glenfiddich-Glenlivet it should be!) archetypal highland style (bourbon finish only/cereal and barley sugar notes dominant) whisky to people when I sometimes entertain a whisky evening with some friends....but yes it's not special/exceptional
£36 for this is absolutely absurd! Good call picking up 3! Hah! Yeah it's a solid bourbon-matured 18 year old with quality, integrity, and some really nice flavours. Not mind blowing, but nothing to complain about either, especially at that price! 🥃
you really said "let's talk price" and then never gave up what the price was.
It's kind of hard to find normal Bourbon cask 12yo deanston in Taiwan.. while 12yo sherry cask version is everywhere😢
Try "Wine Collection 名酒集" on 復興南路. The last time I was there they had it. 🥃
A get it for 35 a bottle great deal as freind works in the distillery
Lucky! 🥃
I just managed to pick up a bottle of this for £67, I doubt I'll get it this cheap again.
That's a damn good price for a quality 18. 🥃
I'm not that bothered with Deanston. I just find the bottles I've had, the 12 and 18, to be underwhelming. It's not that I don't appreciate the lighter side of whisky because I do. The 18 is good value but I really wouldn't pay more than £70 for a bottle. I'd rather get a Glencadam 13 for less and that has a similar profile (one that I prefer). It's okay but the fact that it's 18 years old doesn't really mean anything when there are lots of younger whiskies I'd rather have.
That's fair. For reference I paid about £50 for this, which I think is a great deal.
Some reviewers mention the D18 smells a lot ike Glenfarclas 12 (sherry) . . . lol, strong woman, change all PRONOUNS . . .
Glenfarclas 12? Hmmm... I haven't had a GF12 in ages so honestly that never occurred to me. I can't really picture it but I guess it's possible!
yep I was one of those loving this one too
Me too, think it's the best thing I've tried this year.
It's a beauty!
Is this marketing on sites as “organic” or that a different bottle?
Should be different.
I gave this an 85. 10 yr and 12 an 8.2
Seems neither of us are totally enamoured, but like you I think it's a solid step up from the 12. Cheers buddy!
Worth $110 USD? For example, that's $40 more than I could buy Loch Lomond 18 for.
Damn man that's a lot. It's like USD $60 here! $110 is pushing it!
@@Gwhisky Agreed.
@@Gwhisky ...and $110 is "cheap" price; I've seen it for $150!
@@MrChristopherMolloy Yeah pass. I mean it's good but I'd personally draw the line at about $100.
Deanston should stop pouring Chanel No.5 into their casks!
Find me a better priced naturally presented ex-bourbon 18 year old. Cheers bud!
Can't think of any! Cheers Lewis! 🥃