Deanston from tequila barrels
It's been more than five years since the Scotch Whisky Association introduced new regulations for the maturation process of Scotch whisky. In practice, they meant allowing Scottish distillers to use barrels of a whole range of liquors that had previously been banned. In earlier regulations, only barrels such as those traditionally used to store whiskey were allowed. The recipe was vague, and the burden of proof for such a tradition was on the whisky maker. It was difficult to prove historical cases of storing Scotch whisky even in casks of calvados, tequila or more exotic liquors, so in practice their use was prohibited. New regulations have made maturation in such barrels permissible.
Deanston Distillery has just announced the release of a whiskey for which it has taken advantage of these friendlier regulations. We are talking about Deanston 15yo Tequila Cask Finish, whisky with a strength of 52.5% vol., unfiltered cold bottled without added colored caramel. This whisky began its maturation process in bourbon refill barrels. When it reached the age of 13 years, it was poured into Mexican tequila barrels for another two years.
According to the producer, this whisky offers accents of pineapple, crème brûlée, nuts and light oak in its bouquet. In the taste we can expect notes of caramelized agave, roasted almonds, baked apples and English sauce.
Deanston 15yo Tequila Cask Finish will be available any day from specialty aging liquor stores, with a retail price set at £95.
Deanston Distillery is a plant that stands out among Scottish distilleries in many ways. Its premises date back to the late 18th century, when a huge weaving factory was established here. So from the looks of it, Deanston looks nothing like a traditional distillery. You will look in vain here for a pagoda-topped malt drying room, nor will you find the glass-fronted alembic hall characteristic of so many distilleries. The weaving plant operated here until 1964, when it was closed for economic reasons. A year later, the equipment in the weaving mill was replaced with equipment for tempering whisky, production of which began here in 1966. Deanston is also a distillery that can be said to be one of the most environmentally friendly plants in the industry - all the energy needed to run production here comes from a water turbine, set in motion by the swift current of the River Teith, which flows right past the plant.
Deanston, then owned by Invergordon Distillers, suffered from the overproduction crisis that hit the Scottish distilling industry in the early 1980s. In the 1970s. The distillery closed in 1982 and reopened less than a decade later when it was bought by Burn Stewart Distillers. This in turn became the property of the South African Distell Group in 2013. Since then, more or less, the intensive marketing activity and almost exponentially growing presence of Deanston single malt whisky in the world markets begins. Today Deanston is an establishment with an excellent reputation among Scotch whisky lovers, and its basic official offering is an ironclad part of any self-respecting whisky bar. Deanston is offered primarily as a 12 year old, 18 year old, Virgin Oak NAS and a 15yo Organic version. In addition to these, a wide range of special editions can be found on the market.
As we learn, Deanston 15yo Tequila Cask Finish has just appeared in the offer of the House of Whisky Online, along with a whole range of other editions of whisky from this distillery. We invite you to visit.
[27.08.2023 / Photo: Deanston]