Review No.217. Deveron 18 Year Old

The Deveron is a single malt produced by the Macduff distillery and is know for its coastal qualities. If you are familiar with my blog then you will know that I am a fan of this flavour profile.  I reviewed the 12 year old a while back and although at first it seemed a bit simple, I ended up enjoying it as I worked my way down the bottle.  It had similarities with Arran from what I can remember in terms of flavour profile.  This 18 year old appears to be reasonably priced at about £65.  If it can follow on from the 12 year old then I think I may have found a bargain.

Whisky: Deveron 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 40%

Nose: Candy floss, vanilla, lavender, pear, vegetal, malt, oak

Taste: Barley sugar, vanilla, butterscotch, ginger snaps, juniper, peppermint

Finish: Dry, chocolate, tobacco

Score: 2.75

Summary: There is a candy floss sweetness to this that did not sit well on my nose and taste buds. The texture is quite dry and a bit thin.  This is quite a delicate malt in my view and I am probably not being fair on it but I expected more flavours and texture given that it has been matured for 18 years. It doesn’t have the coastal qualities that I got from the 12 year old which is a disappointment. Maybe the casks are not quite up to scratch and the extra maturation has taken over the qualities that were found in the 12 year old.

Scoring scale: My scores reflect a balance of the overall experience, availability and cost for a whisky,

1 – not to my preference

2 – tastes fine but does not excite me

3 – more to my liking and would revisit occasionally

4 – very much to my liking and would consider as a regular feature on my whisky shelf

5 – permanent feature on my whisky shelf

Image source: www.thewhiskyexchange.com