Deerstalker Limited Release
Speyside Single Malt scotch whisky
Age: 20 years 1 month
Distilled: 8 Dec 1994
Bottled: 7 Jan 2015
Distillery: Braeval
Cask number: 159164
Bottle number: 34 of 276
Matured in ex-bourbon barrel
Unchill filtered, natural colour
48% abv
(tasting note from Oct 8, 2020)
As best as I have been able to determine, Deerstalker is a bottler – they will buy casks of whisky from various distillers and either further age them, or move them to different casks and further age/evolve them. I havenโt figured out if they do their own distilling, but these Limited Release series definitely seem to be sourced from other distilleries. I see Speyside (this one), Lowlands, Highlands, etc. Various age statements as well (10, 12, 15, 20, etc). I picked this one up on a yellow tag impulse (Iโm such a sucker for these! I only see $ saved, not $ spent!)
The box text simply states:
“Color – Light Amber
Nose – clean, malty notes
Taste – Spicy – good combination of oakiness and almonds
Finish – Well balanced with a beautiful sweetness“
Color
The pour is nice to look at. It is light, has a golden straw-like appearance. Pretty.
Nose
Right out of the gate, it is strong. There are stringent, alcohol notes. There could be an overall fruity scent in there, hard to tell.
Then the barrel comes in strong now. Big strong wooden staves, pushing that sawdust, straw, barrel to the fore. Am I getting any fruit, really? Straw and sawdust/barrel, mostly.
On a gentle approach to the nose, there are very faint sweet and lightly floral notes. Very hard to pick up.
Air seems to gentle the barrel. Peach, lightly pastry perhaps. Caramel. All the notes are so faint, so subtle.
After a sip, clean and malty like the box says. The sweet fruit and light pastry brushes the edges now and then, very fleeting.
Palate
Strong, burn. Fiery. Some sweetness, spicy oak. Maybe summer fruits.
Once the burn passes, there are echoes of the nose, but honestly feels more like a spirit-heavy liquor.
Finish
Burn slowly fades, some faint sweetness lingers.
Final Thoughts
Overall, nothing really here for me. I don’t feel like there are hidden gems in here, it comes across as light in flavour, strongly alcoholic. I don’t get any hints of wonder, just faint echoes of other whiskies I’ve enjoyed more. The alcohol is strong, and isn’t masked by any big flavours or interesting notes. Harsh undertone to all parts of the experience. For me this was definitely a miss on the Yellow Tag lottery.
