Since 2009, Deanston is no longer chill filtered and bottled at a strength of 46,3% ABV. This was not always the case. Today, I will be trying two older versions of the Deanston 12 Year Old. One from 1990, the other from 2007, both bottled at 40% ABV. To allow easy reading, I will refer to them as D1 for the old bottle and D2 for the 2007 version.

The nose of D1 is all vanilla, caramel and cereal. Very sweet. Some flowers and even a trace of smoke. But also slightly bitter on wood shavings and dried grass. Some fruit à la sultanas. D2 is less influenced by the oak, but as sweet as the first one. Luckily it has a little more fruit, like oranges and apricots. Mild spices and some nuttiness as well. D1 loses on the nose, but D2 must not start cheering, for both whiskies are very soft and one-dimensional. Actually, downright boring.