Whisky: Deanston 12 and Glengoyne 12

Time to return for some whiskies. First up is the Deanston 12 year old. Deanston is a distillery near Doune. Probably all have seen Doune castle in the Monty Python move Holy Grail. It is quite a new distillery and it started in 1957 when an old cotton mill was converted into a distillery. From the beginning Deanston was not known for great whisky but in recent years it seems that the owner has increased the quality a lot. The Deanston 12 year old I believe has only been aged in Bourbon barrels. It is un-chilledfiltered and uncoloured. In the nose I get a malty smell with maybe some toffee. The taste is of malt, vanilla and some oak. In the aftertaste I get some malt and spices. A very good 12 year old.

Glengoyne belongs to the highland distilleries but their storage area for casks are across the road in the lowlands. They use a lot of sherry casks in their whiskies and one of the few distilleries that has a complete age statement range for a good price. Their 12 consists of 20% first fill European sherry oak casks, 20% 1st fill bourbon barrels and 60% oak refill casks. I was quite disappointed when I tasted it the first time. It felt a bit inmature and very closed. I went back a couple of months later and then it had completely changed its character. So it need some time to open up. When it had opened up it was very good. The nose was of sherry, spices and some vanilla. The taste is of sherry, oak and some spice. The aftertaste is of sherry and spices. Very nice. Will be interesting to try their older whiskies in the future such as the 18 and 21 year old.