Deanston 1967-1991 - 23 Year Old - Signatory Vintage - Single Cask 1785 - Miniature

Deanston is a modern Highland distillery built in a converted 18th century mill in 1965. Whisky distillation began at Deanston in 1966 before a troubled ownership history led to the distillery being mothballed in 1982. Deanston was revived in 1991 by new owners Burn Stewart Distillers but another turbulent period followed after Burn Stewart was acquired by CL Financial. Finally, South Africa’s Distell Group bought Burn Stewart in 2013, since when Deanston and its sister distilleries Tobermory and Bunnahabhain have flourished.

Deanston’s first owners bottled the distillery’s malt whisky as Old Bannockburn, with the Deanston name appearing for the first time in 1974 during Invergordon’s unhappy tenure. The best official bottlings of Deanston whisky have been recent, with Distell releasing a cask strength 40-year-old and several excellent small batch vintage releases. Independent Deanston is easy to find, with Hunter Laing and Signatory Vintage bottlings among recent highlights.

Signatory Vintage Whisky Company was founded by Andrew Symington in 1988 after a spell as assistant manager at the Prestonfield House Hotel, where he had the opportunity to buy a cask of Glenlivet 1968. A robust and canny businessman, Symington had soon acquired some outstanding parcels of casks from great distilleries, and quickly established a reputation among single malt fans for good value, high quality single casks, the majority of which were released at full strength.

Throughout the 1990s and beyond, Signatory released outstanding whisky from Ardbeg, Glenfarclas, Springbank and many more, with frequently remarkable examples of lost or obscure distilleries. Soon established as one of the leading new wave independent bottlers, Symington was also an early exponent of bottling whiskies without colouring or chill filtration, a policy that has also served Signatory well at their Edradour distillery, which was purchased in 2002.