Deanston 20 Year Oloroso Cask Matured

Bottled in 2017. Deanston, the avant garde Glenfarclas, makes great whiskies at reasonable prices. A cask strength 20 year old exclusively Oloroso matured whisky bottled at 55.5% for under $200? Give me another example. Not even Glenfarclas – if they released this expression, it would be in their vaunted Family Cask line fetching many hundreds to thousands of dollars on secondary. Like many sherried Glenfarclas examples, this Deanston probably uses tired casks, which have been filled 2 or 3 times previously. While, as a result, this expression does not have the dark, brooding sherry flavors of Glendronach, this still knows what it is doing. Whisky has never gotten as close to Werther’s Original as this Deanston 20 year old. Creamy soft caramel. A little raisin; a little swampy. Hazelnuts. Yogurt with dried cranberries and blackberries. Nougats. It’s really going for a sticky, mouthcoating experience, but it won’t get stuck in your teeth. There’s hazelnut coffee and wood spices on the finish. Overall, there’s humility in this whisky. It is not the sherry bomb offered by expensive Glendronachs or Macallans, but it is a well-balanced, well-structured, and a tasty example of good Oloroso maturation, with its earthiness, nuttiness, and dried dark fruits. Werther’s Original is then, what biologists would call, an emergent property. Score: * (unforgettably good) How much does a bottle cost: $150-200 How much do I think a bottle is worth: $185