The Single Cask

As many of you know Independent bottlers can and often release some real gems and recently I have had the pleasure of trying quite a few through the blog and working the festivals, this is where I first came across “The Single Cask” guys and sampled a couple of the offerings they had at the time..

The Single Cask is a Company dedicated to offering top quality whisky as it was intended to be offered – straight from the cask and in its most natural state, cask strength, naturally coloured and NCF..

After chatting with both Ben and Tom about the products and managing to get an interview with Tom for the “A day in the life” series  ( https://ocdwhisky.com/2018/11/26/a-day-in-the-life-an-interview-with-tom-from-the-single-cask/ )

the talk obviously came down to the whisky, a few days later a package arrived and within was a few samples for me to review..

So today’s review is the first of these and is from a distillery that each time I get to sample whisky from them the more I am impressed with the quality..

Deanston Distillery is located in the highland region and was founded fairly recently in 1965, the distillery is situated within an old cotton mill and comes under the Distell umbrella..

Deanston 20 year old – Single cask #1982

Distillery.. Deanston

Region.. Highland

Distilled.. December 1997

Bottled.. February 2018

Abv.. 52.7%

Cask.. #1982

Outturn.. 251

Bottler.. The Single Cask

This is NCF and Naturally Coloured.

Nose.. A sweet start with fresh fruits and natural fruit syrup, vanilla, toffee, heather honey with soft aromas of cinnamon, ginger and a little oak in the background.

Palate.. Fruit leads again but the spices soon power their way through, plenty of ginger, cinnamon and a little pepper heat, towards the end the honey shows up with a little exotic fruit.

Finish.. Warming, spicy and lingering.

Thoughts.. Single casks should always be a journey with some sort of story to tell, this  cask offering from “The Single Cask” certainly does that, sit back, relax and take in the first scents that leave the glass and you are away..  Ok I know some of you are now thinking “ what the hell is this guy on about” so let me explain.. When you sit down with a whisky you have a few choices, either just knock it back, it is a drink after all !! Or just take a minute to think about what you actually have in the glass, this whisky has been  quietly resting, maturing for at least 3 years ( generally a lot longer) inside a wooden cask in order to change from that initial new make spirit into what could possibly be the most impressive whisky you will ever encounter!! Just think about what has happened over the last however many years this whisky has laid dormant, think about whatever you want but just appreciate what you are about to drink, let the moment take you away, it is in this moment that nothing else really matters it’s just you and the liquid.. This is the journey!!

Let the whisky tell you a story of the distilleries they have come from, the profile, the people that work there, the area, the history.. Each cask tells you something different and that’s why I love single casks, they are all different.

Independent bottlers always seem to get a rough ride with many whisky drinkers out there staying clear and preferring to buy official bottlings but when they offer something like this I have to wonder why !!

A great independently bottled 20 year old Deanston single malt whisky that only brings joy..

 

For more info check out http://www.thesinglecask.co.uk/