Deanston 2008-2018 - 10 Year Old - Cadenheads Black Label - Single Cask - Whiskypedia

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.

In 1842 George Duncan established a wine merchant and distillery agency business in Aberdeen. Duncan was joined in the early 1850s by his brother-in-law William Cadenhead, who took over the business after Duncan’s death in 1858, changing the company’s name to Wm. Cadenhead. When Cadenhead died in 1904 the company passed to his nephew Robert Duthie, who developed the spirits side of the business.

Duthie died suddenly in 1931, and employee Ann Oliver was put in charge of Cadenhead’s. Sadly, Oliver’s tenure ended in financial difficulty and on her retirement in 1972 the business was forced to sell its entire inventory. Cadenhead’s was acquired soon afterwards by J & A Mitchell, proprietors of Springbank distillery, who relocated the business to Campbeltown. Cadenhead’s has flourished under Mitchell’s stewardship, releasing many legendary single malt bottlings in the 1980s and 1990s and now has outlets in Edinburgh and London as well as Campbeltown.