Deanston Distillery — Attraction in Great Britain

This review isn't for the distillery tour rather a review of the Deanston Virgin Oak Single Malt Scotch itself. As an avid lover of various brands of Scotch I bought a bottle of the Virgin Oak tonight to try it out as I'd never seen it on the shelf before; tend to lean more towards the Highland and Lowland Scotches as opposed to the Islay brands as the heavy peat content seems a bit overwhelming on the palate & I don't like to dilute my single malts to drink them which is why I thought this would be a good choice; unfortunately this was not the case but the story doesn't have a bad ending. I poured a dram in my Glencairn & it had a very nice, crisp nose to it; the oak wasn't very prominent and you could get hints of fruits and toffee with a nice backnote of honey as the scent went down the back of my throat; it seemed a bit heavy on the spice note so I let it sit to open up for a couple of minutes. Upon the first sip I got an overpowering blast of pure oak flavor which completely drowned out all the beautiful notes that hit my nose on the first smell leaving nothing but a strong wood-oak taste in my mouth and nothing more. At first I thought of getting another bottle and keeping this one for friends to try and see what their opinions were, but, against my own personal belief that you should never have to add water to a nice single malt scotch in order to drink it I did and, in all honesty, I discovered all of the flavors and after notes that I was hoping for and then some. I found that if you hit a 1:1 ratio with this whisky the prominent oak taste dissapates but the other flavors do not and you end up with an absolutely beautiful glass of whiskey with flavors that dance on your tongue, and the longer you let it breathe out the milder the spice notes get allowing you to really savour the true brilliance of this whiskey. To the fine Whiskey Masters of the Deanston Distillery I sincerely apologize for having to wreck this scotch with water, it is something I've honestly only done once with a damn expensive bottle of Talisker Ltd. and swore I'd never so again but in breaking my oath I accidentally discovered one of the best tasting glasses of whiskey I've had the pleasure of enjoying in quite...

At the start of the tour, the tour guide said that there would be a number of flights of stairs to go up or down. We were NOT asked if any of us would have problems going up or down any of the stairs. I had a walking stick but heard no words of consideration. We were told not to wander off, but stay together. It was often the tour guide who seemed to rush ahead, leaving a number of us to catch up with the rest. Outside I accidentally stood on a hatch cover and was instantly told to get off it. Later on someone touched a barrel and was told off for doing so. Shortly after that barrel had been touched, I told her that I, and probably many others of us, had yet to see any consideration from her about our ability to cope with the stairs and that she seemed to be rushing off for us to follow in her tracks some way behind her. They were points that I thought needed to be said. She said it was the way they did things there. A few others in the group showed that they agreed with me. Within a couple of minutes, she left us and we were joined by someone who asked if there were any further questions about that area. After that, he took us to the whisky tasting, shortly before the end of the tour. He did not wear a mask yet his predecessor wore one and insisted that we all wore one. Masks were provided if we didn't have one. (There was no mention of masks at a distillery we had visited earlier that same day, where the procedure was, in many respects, very much the same). I see it as a poor way of putting her point across to us. Instead of telling people off for doing something, it would have sounded a lot better if she had said they didn't want us to do certain things. It might also have been better / more considerate to mention that there were some toilets near the start of the route, which we could use if needed prior to the tour. The sign outside the unisex toilet for only one person to use it at a time and to lock it after entry must have lead to queues at some...

Popped to the distillery earlier today really excited to try some of their limited edition whiskeys, just to be told that they are way too busy to help us in the shop and that we can sign up for their ridiculously expensive tasting which didn't serve them in 2 hours time. Alternative option was to go into a cafe which was a separate business where dogs are not allowed and only core range of whiskeys is served. The worst part of it all was that people before us and after us were offered to try whiskeys in the shop. Hence at this stage I'm not sure if it's discrimination, poor customer service or absolute lack of interest in your customers, but I know for sure that I wouldn't return or recommend anyone to visit. P.S. After I left with the dog being quite upset at this stage, my husband went to the cafe to at least try the core range. On the way out he managed to speak with someone much more professional, who offered him loads of advice and whiskeys to try fulfilling the initial purpose of the visit. Thanks to the other member of staff, my husband got what he wanted and I have a chance to explore some Limited edition whiskey in the comfort of my own home as he bought a couple of bottles in the end. NB: 1 star rating is based on my experience and I'm sure it would have been much better if my husband wrote this review as he was very impressed...