Deanston Distillery is located a few miles north of Glasgow and so we had to make a stop there. This relatively new (1966) distillery is in an old cotton mill on the River Teith. As we got close a red squirrel ran across the road and then we followed the river to the distillery.
As you enter there is a display of bottles from across the years. I would not expect to see one from the year they opened as it takes at least three years for whisky to mature and I think they aim for more than that.
They have a small shop and a cafe. We had booked our tour and there were eight going round that time. Our guide was a young Canadian who had recently come to Scotland, but he really knew his stuff.
The river supplies all their power via a couple of hydroelectric generators. In earlier times there were actual water wheels in that building to power the factory. The old generator on the right is by David Brown who also owned Aston Martin at some point which is why some of their models have DB in the name.
The first part of the whisky process is making the mash where the ingredients of water, barley and yeast are combined. Their mash tub is open topped as their free energy means they do not need to worry too much about losing heat. It does smell a bit and some may find that a bit much.
The mixture is pumped into these big tanks to ferment. They go down way beyond the level we were on. I think they were something like 50,000 litres each. The yeast needs some time to do its work.
Next is the crucial distillation phase where the alcohol is separated out. They do not let you take photos in the room as the air can have a lot of reactive vapour, but we could do it from just outside. I think they are just being cautious as a phone camera is unlikely to cause a spark.
Then it is a waiting game. They use different types of cask as each will affect the taste differently. Some will have been used for other types of drinks like sherry or bourbon. For it to be called whisky the casks have to be oak and be stored in Scotland. Deanston has several stores like this at the distillery and some in Edinburgh. They do not want to risk it all being in one place if there were a fire or other incident. They also store some casks for their partner distilleries.
Finally comes the all-important tasting. There were samples of their 12 year old, 18 year old and sherry cask single malts. I am not expert, but they all had their own very distinct taste. Our guide gave some tips on how to do the tasting. You could add a little water as required. If someone has to drive they provide little bottles to take it home.
This is my first distillery tour and I really enjoyed it. As well as the samples you get a discount on anything you buy in the shop.
Of course I had to buy some. The sherry cask finish was for a friend and the 60th anniversary bottle for me. These were not the most expensive bottles, but they still give you a nice bag for each one.
I could not resist the badge as I have a collection of those. I do not keep all my used whisky bottles as they are too bulky, but I have kept some stoppers that often have the brand logo on them.
Sláinte!
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